Make A Wish, It's Your Birthday!
by Artemis Day
Summary: It's that most special day of the year. What sort of superhero shenanigans might be in store? Marvel-ous Birthday fics collection 2017-2019. Chapter Fifty-Three: Steve/Darcy.
1. Lokane for goblynn

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone! I hope you're all looking forward to an amazing new decade. I know I am.**

**So this is my first official posting of 2020, though not my first new story. See, over on tumblr and AO3, I've been involved in something called Marvel-ous Birthdays. Basically, you make a request with a pairing and a prompt, and on your birthday, you receive a short fic. I'm just one of several fic writers who have been involved over the years, and I'm sorry to say 2019 was our final year in business. I'm going to miss all those birthday fics. I ended up writing for some pretty strange and interesting ships that I never would've considered otherwise. **

**But since the year is over and Marvel-ous birthdays is now no more, I've decided it's high time I compiled all my birthday fics and posted them as a single collection. I have about fifty of them and will post a new one every one to two days. ****Please remember that some of these are older and not current with the MCU. Also, I am NOT taking requests for new birthday fics at this time. **

**That being said, I hope you enjoy this first Marvel-ous birthday story!**

* * *

**Written for:** _goblynn. May 2nd, 2017 Lokane, in the classic trope of enemies to lovers_

Jane found a little corner in Asgard's royal library and holed herself up in it, surrounded by the few books she could find translated into English. Despite the slim pickings, she'd found several both relevant and entertaining to read. Flicking through the pages, she almost didn't catch the black shadow creeping along the edges of her sanctuary. Only because it had happened so many times this month did she not become concerned.

"What do you want, Loki? I'm busy."

He slid out of the darkness, grinning evilly at her. He'd been 'reformed' for some time now according to Thor. The details were sketchy, and Thor for once had no intention of giving her a straight answer. He was no longer a threat was all she needed to know.

Jane would argue that she needed a lot more than that, like why, of all people, Loki would choose to bother _her_ every day.

"I see you've made progress since yesterday," he said, taking a seat next to her without asking. "Almost to the next page."

"This is a different book," Jane said, enjoying watching his grin fall off a little too much. "And yes, thank you, I have made progress."

"Indeed," he muttered. He picked up some of her notes, again without asking. Forming them into some semblance of order, he silently read her musings and quandaries. "You're on the right track, but might I make a few corrections?"

"No," said Jane.

"Thank you." Loki picked up a pen and began writing in the margins.

Thus it continued between them for the next few weeks. Thor was busy performing peace missions for the recovering Odin, fixing the damages their close call with Ragnorok caused. Jane wasn't privy to the details of that little incident either. One of the many reasons she'd decided this thing between her and Thor wasn't going to work out.

Eventually, she got used to Loki's constant presence. He'd made it clear that he wasn't going to go away no matter how many times Jane tried to get rid of him. If she sat in another part of the library, he'd be there the second she turned her head. If she went somewhere else in the palace, he only ever needed an hour or so to find her. The time came when she had to throw her hands up and just accept it. Ignoring him wasn't even an option. He always made himself known.

"Why do you remain here?" he asked her one day. "Your romance with Thor has ended. I see no other reason for you to stay."

"I'm a scientist," Jane said, more than a little offended. "I'm not some crying fangirl wishing for the day he comes back to me. There's so much more for me here than Thor."

"Is that why you spend your days sitting in this one spot reading the same books over and over again?" Loki asked.

Jane wouldn't dignify that with a response.

"Or could it be something else here has your attention? Or someone?"

Not that either.

"You'll get nowhere pretending not to hear me."

"I don't want to talk to you." Jane picked up her pen and wrote something. Anything. Just to keep her face on the page and not on him.

"I think you do, Jane," he said.

"And what makes you so sure?"

He smiled in the corner of her eye. He'd do anything to make sure she couldn't work and had nothing in her mind but thoughts of him. He could never know that it wasn't a hard task at all.

"You don't realize yet how alike with are," he said. "Both outcasts, both unfairly mocked by those who don't know as well as us. That's how I know you desire my company, Jane. As much as I desire yours."

This should've been the part where Jane did the indignant hero thing, insisting that they were _nothing_ alike because she was_ good_ and he was _evil_ and good would _always_ triumph over evil yadda yadda yadda. Maybe if she were an Avenger and had fought him in the past, she would've. Instead, she said nothing. Did nothing. The pen slipped out of her hand and Loki's fingers were only a breath away from touching hers.

Somehow, at that moment, Jane knew exactly how this was going to end. That there was never another way. Whether it be tonight, tomorrow night, next week or next year, she was going to end up exactly where Loki wanted her to be. From the heated look in his eyes, that was going involve someplace a little more private than the library.

The strangest part of all was that she couldn't wait.


	2. CaptainQuake for 66olicityotp43

**A/N: Just to avoid confusion, I will be editing the tags every time I post a new chapter to reflect each new pairing.**

* * *

**Written for: **_66olicityotp43. May 4th, 2017 Steve/Daisy, "Is that all your mouth is good for?"_

Ever since SHIELD walked into her life, free time for Daisy had been down to a minimum. Whenever she did get a minute to herself, she spent it pretty much the way she did the pre-SHIELD days: typing away on her laptop and reading important government documents that technically weren't supposed to exist.

A police car drove by the outdoor Manhattan cafe, sirens blaring. Daisy had been smart enough to pick a table right by the street, and papers flew all around her from the wind the speeding car generated.

"Gotta love the city," she said, getting her things re-organized.

"Tell me about it," said the waitress as she came over with Daisy's sandwich. Her nametag read 'Beth' and she had a kind face like someone who had never been touched by the true horrors of this world. "I've lived here for three years, and I'm still not used to it."

"It takes time," said Daisy. "I've lived in a lot of different places, but I always end up back here eventually."

"Some people have it in their blood," a new voice spoke. It was male and deep, coming from the man one table over. He had his head down, flipping through a book. A brown leather jacket failed to mask his large arms and shoulders. He was probably a good looking guy, but unfortunately for him, Daisy's mood today was middling at best.

"Just like some people have interrupting private conversations in their blood, right?"

The man in the hat chuckled, closing his book. "Sorry. I couldn't help but overhear."

"With all the conversations going on right now, you'd think at least one would be more interesting than this."

The cap's visor was low over his face so that all Daisy could see was a strong nose and a pair of full pink lips which were honestly kind of mesmerizing. Not that Daisy was one to get carried away by a pretty face (she'd made that mistake one too many times in her life), but damn if his face wasn't especially pretty. "You seem familiar. Have we met before?"

"I doubt it," Daisy said. If she was being honest, she could say the same about him. She couldn't quite place where she'd heard that voice before, but it must've been somewhere.

"You're probably right," he said. "I'd remember a beautiful gal like you."

Did he just say 'gal'? Who said gal anymore? What did he think this was, the fifties?

"Is that all your mouth is good for?" she asked.

Beth squeaked, reminding Daisy that she was still there and had never left. Daisy made a note to give her an extra five bucks with the tip. Then the man in the hat smiled and got to his feet.

"Maybe someday you'll find out." He left a fifty dollar bill on the table and nodded to Beth as he walked out the open gate onto the sidewalk.

"Do you have any idea who that was?" Beth hissed at Daisy, her eyes bugging out.

"A guy who thinks really highly of himself?" Daisy guessed.

"That was Steve Rogers!"

Daisy burst out laughing, stopping only when Beth did not laugh with her or change expression at all.

"No way," Daisy said, shaking her head. "He wouldn't just walk around in public like that."

"Yeah, he would," Beth said. "And he does. He's here every Tuesday."

The man in the hat hadn't left yet. He stopped walking after another man tore around the corner, a red handbag clutched in his hand. A woman chased him, slowly losing ground and screaming that he'd stolen her purse. The man in the hat waited until the robber was about to pass him, and then he threw out an arm. The robber had no time to stop and ran smack into it, falling backward and clutching his neck where he'd been hit.

The man in the hat stooped down to get the purse and handed it back to the grateful woman. He appeared no worse for the wear, except his hat had fallen off, and now Daisy could see blonde hair cropped fairly short, blue eyes that looked like they held the world in their depths, and that he was without a doubt Steve Rogers.

"Oh, fuck me…" Daisy muttered.

Steve retrieved his hat after receiving multiple thank-yous from the woman. An off-duty cop took care of the would-be thief, so he was free to stroll back the way he came. He had a long, powerful stride, but slowed considerably upon reaching Daisy.

"How about dinner first?" he asked.

Supersoldier hearing. Right.

Daisy was so doomed.


	3. Sam & Bucky for angelwingz1983

**Written for:** _angelwingz1983. May 9th, 2017 Sam & Bucky (non-sexual) 'Is that a challenge?'_

Bucky woke up to find no milk in the fridge and only one sad end piece of whole wheat bread left. His stomach, whining for toast and jam, would not be satisfied this morning.

He was alone in the house he shared with his two roommates. Steve was on a mission with Romanov for the weekend and Sam appeared to be out. Or so Bucky assumed before he checked the garage and found Sam getting into his car.

"I'm going to the store," he said. "You need anything?"

"Whole wheat bread," Bucky replied. "We're all out."

"Yeah, I ate the last two slices. Sorry about that," Sam said in a very not sorry tone, because he knew damn well that was_ Bucky's_ bread and no one was allowed to touch it if they were _not _Bucky. "Well, have fun getting it yourself."

He sped off into the street, the garage door slowly descending his wake. Bucky's eyes narrowed. "Oh, I will."

He grabbed his wallet and his shoes and then he was off, running at top speed past pedestrians and cars alike. The nearest grocery was eight blocks away. By the time Sam pulled into the parking lot, Bucky had been waiting by the entrance for five minutes.

"What took you so long, pal?" he grinned and clapped a hand on Sam's shoulder. "I didn't see that much traffic on the road. Then again, I was going pretty fast."

"Yeah yeah yeah, on your left, I know."

"That's Steve's thing," Bucky said, snatching up a cart. "My thing is 'don't eat my bread if you don't want to get your ass handed to you'."

"You know, I can't tell if that's a threat or a challenge," Sam replied.

Bucky would've told him exactly what it was, except right at that moment, the disenfranchised wannabe criminals of the day burst into the store with pig masks and rifles, demanding everyone get down on the floor. Screams of employees and shoppers drowned out Sam and Bucky's mutual sounds of annoyance.

"Goddammit," Bucky muttered, pulling a knife out of his boot. When one of the robbers came over with his gun drawn, shouting at them to listen or be shot, Bucky embedded the blade into his shoulder. Not deep enough to cause lasting damage, but enough to make him drop the gun. While he writhed in pain, Sam disarmed and knocked out the second robber with a well timed elbow to the nose. The final guy, clearly the stupidest, attempted to ambush Bucky from the side. Bucky's metal fingers closed around the gun barrel, squeezing it shut. He turned his dark gaze onto the puce colored man. "You want to try that again?"

The man dropped to his knees and put his hands behind his head. By then the cops had arrived, in a timely manner for once. While the robbers were cuffed, Bucky walked with Sam back to his car.

"That's just great," he grumbled. "Here I thought it would be a nice day. And I still don't have my bread."

"There's another grocery store across town," said Sam as he got into the driver's seat. "Of course, that's thirty blocks away. Not sure even you could make it on foot."

"Okay, that was definitely a challenge," Bucky growled.

"Maybe," Sam grinned. "I'd give you a lift, but I don't really have room as you can see."

There was a spare Redwing drone in the passenger seat and some boxes in the back. Bucky raised an eyebrow, thinking how nice it would be to wipe that stupid smile off Sam's face for good. With that in mind, he reached into the car and ripped the steering wheel out with barely a jerk of his arm. Sam's expression melted into one of horror. He'd just bought this car a month ago. Oh well. Too bad.

"Удачи!" Bucky said, dropping the twisted hunk of metal onto the blacktop.

He ran down the street, not listening to Sam's enraged screams and not caring at all that he'd have to pay for the damages to the car.


	4. CaptainQuake for thebipolartwin

**Written for:** _thebipolartwin. May 21st, 2017 CaptainQuake __"I'm personally offended that you didn't ask me to be your fake date."_

Daisy sipped her Sweet Tart and looked out at the crowd of superheroes in plain clothes enjoying an increasingly rare night of peace. She herself had been at ease until a certain Steve Rogers arrived, his arm around an annoyingly stunning brunette in a black cocktail dress. Now she might need something stronger. Like straight vodka or absinthe.

It was hard to say when Daisy started crushing on good old Captain America. On some level, she could blame Coulson- he certainly sung Steve's praises enough- and of course she had the same healthy appreciation for his physical beauty as every other male attracted person in the world. That was just aesthetic, though. Behind the handsome face and the shield was a kind and intelligent man who had weathered unspeakable horrors with a smile and an unwavering drive to do good in the world.

She used to wonder how a guy like him could be single. Maybe he was just keeping his true relationship status on the down low. Daisy recognized the face of his date, she was that girl who hung around with Dr. Jane Foster all the time. A name was where she drew a blank. This was why she should've tried harder to get through Tony's firewalls instead of giving up after only six failed attempts. Then she would've known everyone's names.

Steve and his date were talking to Natasha at the moment, her smile suggesting impish joy in whatever the topic of discussion was. Daisy had come to fear that look. That 'I know everything even if you're not telling the whole truth' face Black Widow was so good at. Steve's date didn't mind at all. She chatted with Natasha like they were old pals, even after Steve slipped his arm out of her grasp and excused himself.

He darted for the bar, stopping two seats away from Daisy and taking a breath. The bartender ignored him and kept mixing drinks. No point in serving a man unaffected by mortal liquor when they were all out of the Asgardian stuff.

"Fun party," Daisy said casually. She went to pick up her glass, but found only air. The stupid bartender had taken it and left her to grope around like an idiot in front of Steve Rogers. Great.

"Yeah, fun," Steve said, taking a deep breath. "More fun than the last one Tony threw at least."

Daisy nodded. "Yeah, Ultron… that was killer on my system."

"Mmm…"

The silence between them felt endless, like the entire world had stopped and only Daisy was aware of it. The bartender slid another drink her way, but while her throat was parched, alcohol was not going to relieve her thirst anymore. "So, how've you been?"

"Fine," Steve said. "Busy, but you knew that."

Daisy smiled. "You must be happy spending time with your girlfriend."

"You mean Darcy?" Steve asked with a laugh. "No, she's not my girlfriend."

"She isn't?" _ 'Don't sound so excited! You'll freak him out. Tone it down. Tone it significantly down.'_ "I mean, that's cool. I just saw you come in with her and figured you were together."

"Well, she is my date for the evening, but that's just to get Natasha off my back," Steve explained. "She's still set on finding me a girl. Darcy offered to help me out in exchange for a free trip to New York."

"That was nice of her," Daisy said, failing to hide a massive grin, "but you know, if you wanted to save on plane fare, you could've asked me."

"You would've been my fake date?" Steve looked startled.

Daisy shrugged, almost successfully feigning nonchalance. If only she could stop smiling. "I'm not busy. Not with anyone either. Would've been fine for one night."

"I thought, though, beautiful girl like you, you'd have been sure to have had a date!"

"Steve Rogers, how long have we known each other? You know I'm not into casual dating. I'd have made an exception for you, though." She tilted her head at him. "In fact, I think I'm personally offended that you didn't ask me to be your fake date."

Steve gulped, the tips of his ears turning red. "The only thing is, Daisy… if I'd asked you, it wouldn't have been fake. And it wouldn't have been casual."

_'You say that like it's a bad thing.' _ She stood from the bar stool, and while she didn't quite have the curves Darcy sported, her form fitting dress had definitely caught his attention. "Then how about we try it for real sometime?"

His ears got even redder, so red Daisy didn't think this particular hue existed anywhere on the light spectrum. "I mean, if you wanted… I wouldn't say no."

"Only if Darcy's okay with going solo."

They found her soliciting photos and autographs from an over eager Tony and a less than pleased Clint. She waved at Steve when he caught her eye, then went back to taking selfies. She'd be just fine.

"Shall we?" Steve offered Daisy a hand. He led her away from the party into a private room. If either of them were missed, they didn't know, and they couldn't care less.


	5. WinterQuake for piercethelowtime

**Written for:** _piercethelowtime. July 17th, 2017 Bucky/Daisy "Is that a challenge?"_

"I bet I could beat you at arm wrestling."

Bucky stared at Daisy. She stared back and swayed slightly as she sipped her beer.

"Are you drunk?" Bucky asked.

She snorted. "No, I'm _drinking._ See?" She waved the bottle at him, which was mostly empty and her third by his count.

"...so you're drunk."

"You can drink without being drunk, smart guy." She walked in a straight line to the kitchen and opened the fridge without trouble. Were she not mouthing the number of steps it took to get from point A to point B, Bucky might be impressed. "You don't get drunk from a few sips. Especially if you're Inhuman, which I am. I might not have your level of tolerance, but can hold my liquor… anyway wanna arm wrestle?"

_'You attract the craziest people, Barnes,'_ Bucky thought as he shook his head. _'First Steve, now this.'_

"Why in God's name would you want to arm wrestle me?"

She thought about it for a long time, so long in fact, that he couldn't be sure if she was messing with him or just realizing what a stupid idea this was. "Um… because it'd be fun?"

"I think we have different ideas about what's fun, doll," Bucky said.

"More like I know what's fun and you know what's boring," Daisy giggled.

"You know one of my arms is made of vibranium right?"

"Which is why God gave us two arms. Just in case of a situation like this."

"I'm still not arm wrestling you, and you're still drunk."

"For the last time, I am not drunk!" She hiccuped and opened another bottle. "I'm maybe half drunk. Or two-thirds drunk. Five-eighths at most."

"You're just making up random fractions."

"And you're a wimp who won't arm wrestle me."

Daisy walk-swayed back to the couch, bypassed it completely and came to a halt in front of the coffee table. It was newly purchased for their apartment and only had her laptop on it. She was sober enough not to knock it aside like junk. She placed it carefully on the floor, knelt down and put her elbow on the glass.

"Come on, big guy. I'm waiting!"

"Daisy-"

"You're doing it wrong. This is the part where you say, 'Are you challenging me? James Buchanan Barnes never backs down from a challenge!'"

"I never say that, and my voice doesn't sound like that."

"Excuse me if my 'sexy guy from Brooklyn' accent is rusty. Now shut up and get over here!"

With the exasperated sigh of the endlessly befuddled by crazy people, Bucky sunk to his knees and put up his human hand, lacing their fingers together.

"You're not gonna do that thing where you distract me by kissing me, are you?" he asked.

Daisy blinked, the confident smile sliding off her face in favor of a classic 'hand in the cookie jar' look. "Dammit. You caught me."

Bucky chuckled, pulling her over the table and ignoring the smell of beer on her breath. "Let me make it easier for you," he said before kissing her passionately.


	6. CaptainWinterQuake for celinette9221

**Written for:** c_elinette9221. August 21st, 2017 Steve/Daisy/Bucky soulmate first meeting._

Daisy met Steve for the first time by accident.

Not that she hadn't been looking for him, because she had. Now that SHIELD was underground (again) and Captain America was a war criminal on the run, Coulson got the bright idea to bring the object of his fanboy affections into the fold so they could all be lawless fugitives together.

She'd stopped for a drink at some random shady bar full of shady people who wouldn't care if one more criminal wandered into their midst. Steve wasn't inside, but as she snuck out the back with her hood up, she collided with a tall broad man in a grey hoodie and blue jeans.

Somehow, she knew him immediately, even though he'd grown a beard (which looked shockingly good on him). It must've been his eyes. He should invest in some colored contacts if he wanted to stay incognito. Those eyes were unmistakable.

Since getting this assignment, Daisy had rehearsed several variations of the same speech she would give to Rogers upon locating him. "Hi, you might have heard of me. I'm Daisy Johnson and I'm with SHIELD. We've recently been accused of some stuff we didn't do, and Coulson- he's alive by the way- he thought we should all team up because why the hell not, right?"

It sounded great in her head, but in the face of the man himself, all thoughts and words flew right out the window.

"Hi," Daisy said, her mouth slamming shut after that single word.

"Hi," he said back.

Complete silence followed as Daisy regained her bearings. "I'm Daisy and Coulson's alive."

Steve nodded. "Thanks for telling me. I've seen you on the news."

"Yeah, me too." This was not going well. With what remained of her dignity, Daisy invited him for a drink inside. He accepted, the issue of his insane tolerance levels unaddressed for now.

The ensuing conversation went much better, and by the end of it, Daisy was on her way back to Coulson's current hideout, Captain America in tow. Days later, Daisy would glance in the mirror after a shower at the single word stamped on her collarbone.

"Hi," Daisy said out loud with a chuckle. Boy, what a shitty soulmark that was. It made her glad the second mark on her lower back was so specific. At least there was no way she'd ever miss _that_ one.

* * *

After six months of fighting side by side and working to clear their names in time for the battle against yet another (and infinitely more powerful) alien threat, Daisy found herself in Wakanda with Steve.

Bucky was about to come out of Cryo. A new arm had been built for him and some very promising procedures for deactivating HYDRA's programming had been implemented. As her friendship with Steve grew, Daisy had heard countless stories of James Buchanan Barnes: expert sniper, war hero, and the one and only love of Steve Rogers' life. Most people didn't know they were soulmates, first because of the rampant homophobia of their time and then because Steve just didn't want to share what they'd had. His memories of Bucky were his own and all he had left before now.

Now, if they were lucky, Steve would get his soulmate back, as wholly as he could be. Daisy would get to meet one of her biggest heroes, too. Knowing that almost abated the stab of pain and jealousy which had become increasingly common the more time she spent with Steve.

"It's going to be okay," she assured him as Bucky was prepped for surgery.

Steve squeezed her hand. "Thanks, Daisy. I know it will be, I just…"

Daisy nodded. "Believe me, I get it. If I ever find my soulmates, I'll be just as worried about them as you are about Bucky."

An odd look crossed Steve's features. "You have two marks?"

"Yeah, why?"

He seemed to want to say something, but then thought better of it and shook his head. "Nothing."

Twenty hours later, Bucky was out of recovery and coherent enough for Steve to visit. Daisy tried to wait outside. This was their big moment after seventy long years and honestly, Daisy didn't think she could handle seeing Steve in the arms of someone else. Even if that someone else was Bucky. Steve insisted, though.

"He'll be glad to meet you," he said. "Pretty sure he's seen you on the news."

"Yeah as a wanted criminal," Daisy said, but Steve would not be deterred and she had no choice but to let him pull her along into Bucky's room.

Where a calm and complacent patient would normally be resting post-surgery, they found Bucky on his feet looking out the window. He stretched his new arm out, flexing and wiggling his fingers. Getting a feel for it. He had his shirt off and those hospital pants were a bit tight around the ass and thighs, as Daisy's sex-deprived brain helpfully pointed out.

"Buck, you should be in bed right now," Steve said, slightly choked up.

Bucky turned and smiled. "I've slept enough, thanks. I feel fine."

Steve patted Daisy's arm, turning attention onto her. She stared back into Bucky's piercing blue eyes and almost missed Steve's introduction entirely.

"This is Daisy Johnson," he said, "you might already know her name, but she and I have been working together for the last few months."

Bucky might've heard what Steve said, and he might not have. Despite the presence of his long lost soulmate, he only had eyes for Daisy, which was incredibly weird (though not completely unwanted) right up until he opened his mouth. "I can see why you're wanted by the government, Doll. I want you, too."

Daisy's jaw dropped. They'd been told Bucky would be a little loopy for a while thanks to the high levels of anesthetic needed to keep him out during the operation, but that wasn't why Daisy's brain was going into overdrive.

"Holy shit," she said without thinking. "Did you really just say that?"

Now it was Bucky's turn to catch flies, and as amusing as his bugged-out eyes were, Steve's gobsmacked expression left them both in the dust.

"That… that was Bucky's second mark," he exclaimed.

"You guys have a third?" The weight of the situation fully dawned on Daisy then. "And _I'm_ your third… _Why didn't you tell me?"_

"I didn't know!" Steve threw up his hands. "My second mark is just the word 'hi'. I hear it all the time so I don't even register it anymore."

"Oh shit, my other mark is 'hi' too," Daisy said, shoulders sagging. "No wonder we didn't figure it out."

A large shadow descended upon them. Bucky stood behind Daisy, glaring daggers at Steve. He shrank back instinctively, giving Daisy the impression this wasn't the first time Steve had been on the receiving end Bucky Barnes' wrath.

"You found our third and you didn't know?" Bucky didn't seem to believe it himself, which only added to Steve's apparent shame. "You idiot! We talked about this. We had all those plans for when we found her."

"We were counting on you meeting her first," Steve shot back. "If I'd known don't you think I would've said something right away?"

"No excuses, soldier," Bucky pulled Daisy into his embrace. He smelled less than amazing, but given he'd been frozen for a year followed by a ten-hour operation, Daisy could excuse his lack of hygiene for now. That and he sure did _feel_ amazing. "Now I have to make it up to our soulmate. You stand over there and watch. That's all you deserve."

Bucky then proceeded to give Daisy the best kiss she'd ever had in her life. Even though she hadn't been alive that long comparatively, she knew she had never been kissed like this before and every kiss to follow would be merely an echo of this one. Steve groaned and fidgeted as Bucky deepened the kiss and dragged Daisy over to the bed, sitting her on his lap.

"Didn't you miss me at all," Steve whined.

"Shut up," Bucky said, breaking away from Daisy. "You can come in when we say so."

"He can come in," Daisy panted, clutching Bucky for all he was worth. "He can come in now please."

Bucky rolled his eyes, but already he was incapable of denying her anything she wanted. He nodded at Steve, beckoning him forward. The nurse who came to check Bucky's vitals an hour later would wish she hadn't, and she'd be sure to inform the staff that Mr. Barnes and his two visitors were not to be disturbed for any reason until at least tomorrow morning. Possibly longer.


	7. ThorDarcy for webuiltthiscityonescargot

**Written for:** _webuiltthiscityonescargot. September 13th, 2017 Thor/Darcy "Are you jealous?"_

Darcy Lewis was absolutely not the jealous type. Ask anyone. Whenever she and a friend liked the same guy, she lived by the holy commandment of Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Best Friend's Crush. Such is why, when Jane got over her science boner and started making goo-goo eyes at Thor, a.k.a. Literally The Hottest And Best Guy Darcy Had Ever Known… she'd said, 'okay.' She'd done as the song said and let it go. Jane deserved a sexy god boyfriend more than anyone, herself included.

Ever since their skirmish with the Dark Elves, Jane had been disappearing for days at a time for last-minute 'conferences' (read: hot raunchy god sex). Erik was away on a long vacation for 'spiritual betterment' (read: to not go insane from all the superhero shenanigans), so Darcy was left alone to worry about whether or not Jane would come back this time. While she waited, she could imagine how happy Jane had to be with Thor holding her, kissing her, pounding her into the mattress until the bed broke.

God, why didn't she make a move when she had the chance?

One morning, Jane didn't come home. Darcy found Thor in the kitchen helping himself to a plate of waffles. Another, smaller stack swimming in syrup was on the table in Darcy's usual spot.

"Good morning," he said. "I hope you don't mind me making breakfast?"

"No, that's cool," Darcy said, curling her toes and wishing she was wearing something other than an oversized t-shirt and pajama pants. Here she was being a potato sack while Thor was over there making Fabio look like a gremlin.

"My apologies for coming on such short notice," Thor said as Darcy picked at her food, "but I'm afraid once you have finished your meal, you must come with me to Asgard immediately."

Darcy slowly chewed a bite of sugary sweet waffle. "Why?"

He chuckled. "Jane would've come herself, but she is in the middle of preparations for the ceremony. She is to become a permanent resident of Asgard and she hopes you will come to bear witness."

Darcy's heart dropped like a stone. One half of her wanted to kick the other half for not seeing this coming a mile away. "Just say it's a wedding, Dude. I can take the awful truth."

That was a joke, and kind of a bad one. She was off her game and Thor was, of course, nice enough to laugh it off and pat her on the shoulder. "I've brought a dress for you which has been fitted to your size. Jane desires a quick ceremony. No frills, as she describes it."

"Yeah yeah. No problem."

Darcy performed her morning routine with the addition of washing her hair and applying makeup. She was ready in an hour as Thor waited patiently in front of the TV. He turned off a random episode of All My Days Of Our General Lives and cast an admiring glance her way.

"You are beautiful, Darcy," he said, his voice deepening.

_'Is that how a man about to get married should talk?' _Darcy thought but did not say. She probably should've, but couldn't bring herself to.

"You're not too shabby yourself," she said, holding out an arm. "Shall we?"

The trip to Asgard was rough. 'Rough' was, in fact, not a strong enough word to describe it, but Darcy had decided against linguistics as her minor and gone for history instead. The right word for traveling via bifrost couldn't possibly exist in any human language anyway. Suffice to say, she was dizzy for ten minutes and would happily take a century-long flight home when this was over.

Jane was not at the podium when Thor and Darcy entered the secret room in the palace where the wedding would take place, but Loki was.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Darcy pointed a quivering finger at Loki's bemused form. She'd never seen him in person before today, only on news feeds and internet conspiracy sites claiming he was a fabrication of the Illuminati to cover up Tony Stark's government conspiracy. He was much better looking than the grainy photos made him out to be, but last she checked, he was still one of the bad guys. Had she missed a memo somewhere?

"Unfortunately, it would take far too long to explain," Thor said, shooting a glare at Loki which was pointedly ignored.

At least now Darcy knew who the second witness was.

Jane arrived at that very moment, with the most impeccable timing Darcy had ever seen. She'd commend her friend for that alone. Dressed like a queen in a gold silk dress, she descended the stairs, grinning at Thor and Darcy. She moved fast for wearing heels, leaping off the bottom step and running-

Past Thor.

At Loki.

And then she was hugging him. And kissing him.

Jane was hugging and kissing Loki.

"What the hell? What? Why is-" Were Asgardians just really affectionate with their in-laws or was Darcy in the Twilight Zone right now?

"That is an even longer story," Thor said. "I myself have yet to learn all the details."

"If you are finished talking amongst yourselves," Loki said, somehow tearing his face away from Jane's long enough to speak, "we would like to begin. Where is Heimdall?"

A man in shiny gold armor, presumably Heimdall, appeared through the same door as Jane. His timing was even better than hers. The ceremony was swift from there. Heimdall's frostiness towards Loki throughout was understandable, but he spoke warmly to Jane. He declared them husband and wife and the pair exchanged rings. This was clearly imported from Earth as Loki almost put it on her right hand. They sealed it with a kiss and before Darcy had finished clapping, they were gone with a swish of Loki's cape.

"My brother is impatient," Thor laughed as Darcy blinked away the residual green light of magic. "We might see them sometime next month if they don't extend their honeymoon."

"Jane had better come home soon," Darcy said, folding her arms. "She's got a lot of explaining to do. How did she and _Loki_ happen?"

"I confess I am mystified myself," Thor said, "but I have not seen Loki so happy since we were children. I would want nothing less for him or Jane."

"Yeah, me neither," said Darcy. Heimdall had bowed out of the room while they were talking, something Darcy had just noticed. That meant they were alone in what was essentially a cathedral. "So uh… I guess this means you and Jane are splitsville."

Thor furrowed his brow. "We decided to end our romantic connection and remain friends."

"Yeah," said Darcy. "Would be kind of hard now with the whole 'married to your brother' thing. I mean, I came here today thinking you'd be the one ravishing Jane right now. Which would be totally fine, and I would've been happy to cry my eyes out for my friend on her special day. Cry happy tears, that is. Not sad tears. That would be stupid..."

She trailed off and hoped Thor wouldn't catch on. The magazines back home which tried to paint him as the 'dumb blonde' of the Avengers had the exact opposite idea, though.

"You were jealous," he said.

Darcy let out a loud and dramatic (read: fake) gasp. "Jealous? Me? No. No no no no no… no, I'm not… no. No way. No. No…"

She bit her lip to shut herself up before she dug herself deeper. Judging by the look on Thor's face it was too late for that back at the first 'no'.

"I would not be concerned if you were, Darcy," Thor said. His fingers crept down her arm to lace with hers. His hands were amazing. Big and strong and so warm… "Forgive my forwardness, I know I haven't made an effort before now to visit with you privately, but I would like to have the opportunity to do so if you would allow me."

With her free hand, Darcy gathered some skin on her leg through the dress and pinched herself as hard as she could. When she did not wake up alone on a cot in a cramped walk-in closet of a bedroom, she concluded this was actually happening in reality.

"Well," Darcy said, pausing to take a deep breath, "I guess it kind of sucks when you have feelings for someone and you have to watch them be with someone else. I've been dealing with it okay. Holding my head high and all that junk. But maybe I did still hope I'd get to be with the love of my life someday. Oh well, Jane is married now, so I guess you'll do."

Thor laughed uproariously, his gigantic arm wrapping around her shoulders. "Darcy, if you are serious, I will endeavor to make you forget such things."

"In that case, I'm two hundred percent serious," Darcy said. "Now get to endeavoring, big boy!"

He did, and it was the best night of Darcy Lewis's life.

So far...


	8. TaserSmash for ureeber

**Written for:** _ureeber. September 25th, 2017 Bruce/Darcy "You're really sexy when you're angry."  
_

Bruce Banner was not a stupid man. Given his degrees and experience, that should go without saying, but what some might not know was that he was intelligence did not end with academia. He had a pretty good grasp of people as well.

This was how he knew, weeks after first being introduced to Darcy Lewis, that the young woman had a crush on him. She was kind of incredibly obvious about it.

"Hey Bruce, brought you some coffee," she said one day as she placed a steaming mug of decaf in front of his face. It was one of those 'Hulk is Love' mugs his online fan club sold. He didn't own one mostly because he still didn't completely believe he had fans.

"Thanks," he said, pushing it to the side away from his laptop. "You didn't have to."

"Oh, but of course I did. It's my job as an assistant," she said.

"But you're Jane's assistant," Bruce said, nodding at the woman in question who, along with Tony, watched them from their lab stations. "I didn't see you get them coffee."

"They have legs. Anyway, whatcha working on?"

It went on like that for a few months. Darcy would slide into the lab with Chinese takeout or freshly baked cookies ("Grandma's special recipe," she boasted.), She'd toss whatever Jane needed her way and spend the rest of the afternoon 'oohing' and 'aahing' over Bruce's work. If he were a little less aware, he might not have noticed anything wrong. Except Jane was building a wormhole generator while Tony created new upgrades for his suits. Bruce mostly just took up space. Since the whole gamma ray incident, progress with his research had been pretty stagnant.

And yet, he was the coolest guy around in Darcy Lewis's eyes. Go figure.

After a while, she grew bolder. She came at him with tight midriff tops and short skirts, and if Bruce said his eyes never strayed appreciatively over her curvaceous form, he'd be a bigger liar than Loki. At the same time, conversation veered in a more… M rated direction.

"So…" she leaned over his desk, her cleavage covering his notes, "anyone ever tell you you're sexy when you're angry?"

Bruce blinked. "I uh… I turn into a green giant when I'm angry."

Darcy's elbow slid off the table, and she barely caught herself before her chin hit the metal. "Well, you know, green is my favorite color so…"

Tony and Jane snickered at them, though Jane at least had the decency to hide behind a monitor. Tony looked ready to break out the popcorn.

The next day, the self proclaimed Science Alliance went out to eat, bored with the same old five star cuisine from the in house restaurant. They found a mostly empty sandwich shop in the center of the nearest town.

"So, Bruce, when are you and Lewis hooking up?" Tony asked this difficult question like he was asking for the time.

"Ah…" Bruce stumbled for a proper response.

"Not gonna lie, I've been wondering the same thing," said Jane. "You know she's been dropping hints, right?"

Bruce nodded. "She's kind of obvious."

Tony grinned. "So, when are you going for it?"

"When I de-age twenty years and the Other Guy stops existing. Around then."

"Ah, don't be like that." Tony clapped Bruce on the shoulder. "She's a beautiful woman who knows what she wants, and she wants you. Jane, back me up on this!"

"I did mention the age difference to Darcy," said Jane. "She told me she's always preferred older men."

"See? She likes older men," Tony said excitedly. "Age isn't an obstacle, it's a selling point. Go get her!"

"Why are we even talking about this?" Bruce asked as his sandwich continued to get cold. "Do you care that much about me getting a date?"

"I care about you being happy," Tony said. "We both do, and one of the happiest things in the world is having great sex. Now go for it before we make you."

Exactly what constituted at 'making him', Bruce wouldn't know until a week later, when he walked into the lab to find the emergency lockdown alarm blaring. Reinforced metal cages descended from the ceiling, trapping him in a twenty by twenty enclosed space. It would've been bad enough without Darcy in front of his desk, holding a pan of fresh brownies and also trapped in the cage.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked.

"Emergency protocol in case of an attack," Bruce said. "But I don't think there are any bad guys here."

"That's because this is a different kind of emergency," Tony's voice came over the loudspeaker. "This is a love emergency! The two of you are staying in there until you confess your feelings and share your big damn kiss. I have musical accompaniment set up for the big moment so take your time. Not too much time, though."

"Sorry Bruce," Jane interjected. "It was Tony's idea and well, I'm getting tired of all the sappy love poetry Darcy writes about you."

Bruce looked at Darcy. "You write poetry about me?"

Darcy turned beet red. "_No_… maybe…"

"Okay, you two crazy kids have fun and we'll send Vision in an hour with some food. Take care!"

The audio clicked off, leaving them in silence. Bruce flopped down in his desk chair. Darcy sat on an empty table behind him, her brownies cooling next to her as she awkwardly picked at her nails. "So… you can't just break out of here or…"

"I probably could," he admitted. "Tony knows I won't though. He's counting on it."

"That's okay," Darcy said. "I mean, it's not okay, but… I mean, we can wait this out. He can't keep us locked in here forever. That's illegal and I could sue him. We'll just hang out and chat and… whatever else you might want to do. I'm game…"

While she probably didn't intend for that suggestion to be dirty, Bruce couldn't help taking it that way. Maybe it was just because he knew what she truly thought of him. Maybe it was because something deep down, he felt the same way. Maybe he wanted a beautiful woman's touch after so many long years starved for affection.

Or maybe it was just indigestion.

"Darcy, look, I know why you've been coming around, and I'm flattered. I really am, but it's not a good idea for me to be in a relationship. I'm not the kind of guy you want to stick your neck out for, and you're an amazing, talented, intelligent woman who could have anyone you wanted. You don't need someone like me when you could have-"

She kissed him, and he was glad she did. He was even gladder when she didn't stop. He was less glad when You Shook Me All Night Long blasted over the speakers, followed by fumbling and Tony yelling. "Dammit! That was supposed to be Whitney. What happened? Jane, did I cross the wires? Help me!"

"Don't mind us," Jane shouted. "We're good up here. Go back to what you were doing."

They hadn't stopped to begin with. Bruce didn't know if they ever would. Deep in his chest, the Other Guy purred with contentment. Maybe this could work after all.


	9. ShieldShock for haighcellent

**Written for:** _haighcellent. November 8th, 2017 ShieldShock IKEA furniture assembly.  
_

"So after we insert Tab A into Slot B, we then proceed to step six: securing Screw Thingie G into Slightly Larger Hole H. After that, we repeat steps one to four, with the addendum of breaking Stick Thing K in half and inserting the pieces into Smaller Holes O and P directly following the second step three. Finish it up by securing Boards D and E into place, and viola. We have a bookcase."

Steve was surrounded by pieces of black painted wood and screws of various sizes. There was still a bit of sawdust in his hair from when he turned the box upside down in search of spare parts. He had a hammer in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. If he had any idea what to do with them, he'd be in a better place than Darcy.

"Spreken ze English?" He grinned and ducked when Darcy threw a piece of Styrofoam at him.

"I'd like to see you make sense of this." She shoved the manual in his face. "Or maybe I should get _Bucky _to help me instead."

Steve snatched the booklet and flipped to the first page. It was in Spanish, so he skipped to page seven. He read down the list, murmuring the words under his breath. He scowled like this bookcase was another alien invader and Darcy was pretty sure he'd rather deal with that than this.

"Okay, I think I've got it," he said twenty minutes later.

Darcy put her phone away. "You do not. I read that thing for an hour and I still can't figure out which tab is Tab A."

Steve tossed her a tab with a fat letter A branded on one side. He would be sleeping without blankets tonight.

"Slot B is on the left hand side of this piece-" Steve pulled one of the longer boards out of the pile, "-and after that we connect it to the top and bottom pieces, screw those into place and then we can get the second side piece into place. Easy."

"And you're sure you're not making this up?"

"Darcy, have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Me? No," Darcy smiled cutely. "Everyone else you've ever associated with?"

"Hey, let's work on getting that bookcase made, shall we?" He plucked Tab A out of Darcy's hand and inserted it into Slot B.

Ten minutes later, Bucky Barnes walked in to find Steve and Darcy fuming on the floor, surrounded by splintered wood and the shredded remains of a paper booklet. "I was going to say Jane ordered pizza, but it looks like you guys are busy right now."

"We're burning this bookcase," Darcy said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Or burning IKEA. We haven't decided yet."

Bucky hummed and stroked his chin. He picked up one of the boards and a screwdriver. Within five minutes, before Darcy and Steve's very eyes, he had transformed this useless firewood into a bookcase fit for a king (or a broke grad student). He stood back, hands on his hips, proudly showing off his handy work.

"How the hell did you do that?" Steve demanded.

Darcy was in total awe. "He's a wizard…"

"Nah, I'm just good with my hands. Ask Jane." Bucky grinned and backed out of the room.

Darcy looked at the bookcase, then turned to Steve. "Honey, I love you, but I think we should see other people."

Steve chuckled. "You want to know what I think?"

Darcy didn't have to answer. It was a rhetorical question and the answer was her bent over the bed.


	10. ClintDarcySteve for rainbowseverus

**A/N: ****To keep things simple, we're going to ignore Clint's family. Or we can pretend Laura is his sister or something. Doesn't matter. Point is, he's single here.**

* * *

**Written for:** _rainbowseverus. November 10th, 2017 Clint/Darcy/Steve "Stop undressing me with your eyes and start using your teeth."  
_

They were at another one of Tony's random 'just felt like celebrating' parties. Steve had not dressed for the occasion, because he never did. A fresh pair of pants and a clean shirt were all he needed most of the time. It was to his chagrin that today of all days, Tony decided to shake it up. That was how Steve ended up in a t-shirt and jeans, surrounded by a swarm of black ties.

He wasn't alone, as Stark's sudden departure from the usual routine had left Clint Barton similarly under-dressed. They hung out at the bar and sipped champagne, talking here and there but mostly people-watching. The usual couples were on the dance floor: Tony and Pepper, Vision and Wanda, Sam and Sharon (when exactly they'd become a thing Steve still hadn't figured out). One person they didn't see with a partner was Darcy Lewis.

Clad in a form fitting black dress with a significant amount of cleavage, she was just about the most stunning sight Steve had ever born witness to. She sat away from the crowd, chatting with a Stark Industries employee. She'd never been comfortable around the superheroes, always preferring the muggles as she called them. Being a 'muggle' herself, it made perfect sense, but Steve wished he could get up the nerve to go over there and ask for a dance. If only he'd worn a suit...

"You into Lewis?"

Steve looked to find Clint no longer staring ahead, but at him, with those eagle eyes of his. "Maybe. Are you?"

"Maybe," Clint said.

They stared off in different directions until a waiter approached them with a folded slip of paper. "Pardon me, gentlemen, I have a message from Ms. Lewis addressed to… quote 'the hot blonde piece of ass at the bar' unquote."

Steve reached for the paper, only for Clint to snatch it away. "She said _blonde_," Steve hissed.

"I'm blonde at the roots, asshole," Clint snapped. He unfolded the message and Steve leaned over his shoulder to read along.

_'Hey there, hot stuff, why don't you stop undressing me with your eyes and start using your teeth? ;)'_

Steve shared a look with Clint, the 'deer in headlights' kind. Darcy had moved from her previous spot and blended into the crowd. She could be watching them right now, waiting for the right moment to pounce.

"She was talking about me," Clint said, cramming the note in his pocket.

Steve scowled. "What makes you so sure? She could've meant me."

"I'm hotter than you."

"Says who?"

"Says the online popularity polls." Clint smirked "I'm up twenty eight percent this week. You're down seventeen percent."

"Since when do you pay attention to those things?"

"Since fuck you, that's when."

"All right, this is ridiculous," Steve said. "Let's talk to Jane. If anyone knows who Darcy meant, it's her."

"Good plan. Let's go."

They found Jane on the balcony with Bucky. Having learned the beautiful scientist was single, he'd taken every possible opportunity to chat her up. Judging from her luminescent blush, he had the charm dialed up to eleven tonight.

"Hey guys," she said as they walked outside, missing the death glare Bucky shot their way. "Are you having a good time?"

"Yeah, party's great," said Clint. "But uh… we were just wondering if Darcy is interested in anyone right now."

"Like one of us for example," Steve said subtly. "Just for curiosity's sake… do you know if she likes me or Clint?"

Jane's eye flicked between the two men, a strange smile gracing her features. "Yes."

Steve stared at her. "Wait… what?"

"It's called a mathematician's answer," Jane said.

"Right," Bucky interjected, "and now that you have your answer, why don't you go enjoy the party some more?"

_'Beat it,'_ his eyes clearly said. Steve and Clint left without another word. Jane wasn't talking and they weren't eager to face a cockblocked Bucky's wrath.

That left the pair with a mystery to solve. Which of them was the true object of Darcy Lewis's affections? Would the loser find it in him to cede to the winner without a fight?

"Maybe we should cut the middle ground and ask Darcy," Steve suggested.

Clint scoffed. "Yeah right, we'll go up to her and be like, 'Hey Darcy, which eligible bachelor will you choose to go on a date with?' That'll work."

"I'm right here when you have a better idea."

"Here's one: shut up and let me think."

They could've argued like this for hours, but the night had waned and the party was winding down. Guests exited the ballroom and had to walk past two Avengers to reach the elevators. Steve and Clint ceased their back and forth and Steve pretended to admire one of Pepper's Barnett Newman 'paintings' (one orange line on a red background was art now…) until the crowd was gone.

A few more stragglers wandered out, including Darcy herself. She took uneven steps, holding a shoe in one hand and a broken heel in the other. "Just my luck. Tonight of all nights it had to break…"

"Darcy, are you okay?" Steve asked before Clint had a chance. That was one point for him.

"Oh, hey guys," Darcy said. "Yeah, I'm good, just my stupid heel snapped. And I really liked these shoes…"

"Can I help you back to your room?" Clint stepped around Steve's larger frame.

"Like carry me?" Darcy giggled. "My heroes. You can come with me to my floor if you want. Just in case I trip."

Steve made it to the elevator before Clint just by virtue of his enhanced speed. Inside the car, they watched the numbers go up from two to seven. Darcy walked by herself to the end of the hall but Steve was at her back, ready to catch her if she fell and blocking Clint from helping. He scowled at Steve, who couldn't be bothered if he tried.

"This is me." She had stopped them in front of a door with a 'JANE AND DARCY'S SECRET LABORATORY' sign taped over the peephole. "Thanks so much for the escort."

"No problem," Clint said. He glanced at Steve, as if to say 'Well? Ask her!'

But in the face of the girl he loved, Steve was as tongue-tied as Peggy Carter once made him.

Darcy ran her card over the reader, opened the door, and stopped. She stayed very still for a very long time, then finally she spun around. "Okay, I'm going to just come out with it: you guys read my note, right?"

Boy, when she came out with it, she really came out. Even Clint was struck dumb. It was oddly adorable to Steve, but not the slightest bit helpful. "Ah… we may have taken a look and…"

"You guys don't like what I wrote?" Darcy rolled her broken heel around her fingers. "I mean, if you don't feel the same way, I understand, but-"

"It's more that we're confused," Clint said. "We're not sure which one of us you meant."

Darcy stared at them blankly, then smacked herself on the forehead with an open palm. "I wasn't specific enough. I knew I should've worded it better."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked, unable to take the suspense any longer. "Do you like me or Clint?"

"Yes," she said with a grin.

"What?"

Darcy kicked the door open. It was dark, meaning Bucky and Jane must have chosen his room for the night. "It's called a mathematician's answer."

She took their hands and pulled them both inside.


	11. CaptainQuake for magickgirl786

**Written for:** _magickgirl786. November 22nd, 2017 Steve/Daisy ___"I said no! You almost died! Don't you understand that? I almost lost you!"__

A white wall.

Lights.

Muffled voices.

Skin.

Skin on his skin.

A hand in his hand.

A voice saying his name.

Sights and sounds flashing across his mind one after another. Steve drifted in and out of consciousness, assessing the situation as much as his foggy thoughts would allow. There was a mattress under him and he was moving. A gurney, then. His arm ached and there was blood on his lip. He licked it. Tasted like metal.

He had been fighting someone, or something. He reached for the memory and nearly caught it before falling into oblivion.

He woke up in a hospital room, his arm in a cast and his face bandaged. There was a mirror opposite him on the bathroom door and he couldn't look at it for longer than a second. He was a mess. Bruised cheek, split lip, black eye. He remembered now what he'd done to get in here, and he only hoped Bucky had won when he took over the fight with that alien.

Daisy was asleep with her head on the nightstand. She snored softly. She never liked to hear what kind of sounds she made in her sleep, but to Steve they were the cutest little noises and he'd never be tired of them. He played with a lock of her hair, trying not to wake her. Instead, her eyes snapped open and in the blink of an eye she was on her feet and fussing over him. "Oh my God, Steve, thank God you're awake. Do you need anything? Are you in pain? Are you hungry? Do you want me to get the nurse? Do you-"

What he wanted was for her to stop talking. He made that clear with a searing kiss, his one good arm around her neck to hold her. He pulled away to let her breathe and she sunk into his chest, content for the moment.

Steve listened out the window. There were sirens and heart monitors, everything you'd expect to hear in a hospital. There was no alien machine guns firing magic bullets into crowds of civilians, so either something had gone right or horribly wrong.

"Thanos retreated," Daisy said, reading his mind. "He'll be back. It's just a matter of when."

"We'll be ready when he does," Steve said, his determination already outweighing the dull ache in his bones.

"You'd better mean we as in 'me and everyone else capable of fighting,'" Daisy said forcefully. "As in 'everyone not recovering from a broken arm in the hospital.'"

"Daisy-"

"Don't 'Daisy' me, mister." There were tears in her eyes. Steve's heart broke. He hated it when she cried. "You almost died out there. I almost lost you. If Bucky hadn't saved you, I'd be standing over your coffin right now. Do you get that?"

"I get it," Steve nodded. He tried and failed not to smile. Angry Daisy was just too cute. "So what? You're going to block all the exits until I'm better?"

In response, Daisy dragged her chair to the door and plopped herself down in front of it. She folded her arms. Glared hard at Steve. "I have a full view of the window and the vents from here. So don't even try it, Rogers."

"What if I need the bathroom?"

"No backtalk. Rest. Now."

Steve sighed and leaned back. His accelerated healing would have him back on his feet in a few days anyway, so for now he'd surrender. He closed his eyes. They must have injected him with some serious painkillers; he was already tired again. The last thing he heard before falling back asleep was Daisy's feet as she walked around his bed. The last thing he felt was her hand in his.


	12. BuckyJane for bellemeri

**Written for:** _bellemeri. December 5th, 2017 Bucky/Jane "Don't turn your back on me."_

It should have been the easiest mission in the world. The first step on the long road to self-forgiveness that lay before him. Just go to the World Scientific Summit and protect the keynote while she gave a speech on wormholes. Bucky laughed when he got the assignment. He could take fifty armed men on his own with everyday household items. Guarding a single scientist for one night would be a piece of cake.

What Bucky hadn't counted on was Jane Foster.

"Wait a minute, let me go!" Jane shouted as Bucky dragged her away from a group of fuming scientists giving her the stink eye. "I'm not finished with them."

"Yes you are," said Bucky.

"No, I'm not! I have to tell them why their theories are wrong."

"I don't care."

"Well, you should! These people are supposed to be working with me on my bridge!"

"And what about the last six people you've tried to pick fights with?"

"It's not my fault these so-called intellectuals are idiots!"

She pulled at his fingers, changing angles a hundred times, but no matter what she did, his hands wouldn't budge. He marched her to a table far away from the crowd. She was giving her speech in two hours, but unless he tied her to a tree until then she was likely to get herself in serious trouble first.

They were right next to the bar. He thought about getting a drink (Lord knows he needed one), then remembered at the last second his enhanced metabolism. Unless they were packing Asgard grade booze back there, he was going sober tonight.

"So after I give my speech," she said, "there will be a round of questions, some after dinner cocktails, and then we're done. You can ride with me instead of tailing my car if you want."

"What makes you think I was tailing your car?" Bucky asked while cursing himself for not being more careful.

She gave him a smile and sipped her drink. A second later, she covered her mouth to keep from spitting it out. "Did you hear that?"

With his ears, Bucky heard a lot of things. It was hard to pick out just one voice out of a hundred when his focus was meant to be on the woman beside him. Turning in to the nearest table, a man was chatting with a well dressed woman about something science related. Physics was a bit out of his comfort zone, so he couldn't be sure what the man said that got Jane riled up.

She was, of course, out of her chair and stalking towards him in seconds. Bucky caught up to her and blocked her path. His greater size almost made it easy to keep her at bay.

"Come on," she snapped, "He's explaining the quantum tunneling effect all wrong. If Tony was here, he'd have that guy thrown out for incompetence."

"What if he's an assassin with a gun?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "I've seen him at other conferences. Plus, how would he get a gun in here? There are metal detectors and cameras everywhere."

"If someone really wanted you dead, they'd find a way," said Bucky. Jane scoffed and stomped back to their table. "Don't turn your back on me."

"Why not? You don't scare me," she shot back.

Bucky started to reply, but the words caught in his throat. After that, conversation between them slowed to a trickle. Jane gave her speech and knocked everyone's socks off, Bucky included. He made a note to read her dissertation when he got the chance.

She drove them home in the same beat up truck she used when she was a nobody fringe scientist in the desert. Sentimental value, she'd explained when he asked. In her designer dress and heels, she stepped on the gas and left the parking lot in a cloud of exhaust fumes. They drove down the busy city streets, the radio turned to some random oldies station which was out of date even for him.

Bucky coughed once or twice, working up the nerve to open his mouth. "So uh…"

"Yeah?" she kept her eyes on the road, but he could tell she was listening.

"Do I really not scare you?"

They slowed before a red light and she leaned back, waiting for it to turn green. Her eyes flicked to him. "No, not really."

"Even though I've…" he flexed his metal fingers. His new arm was stronger and more flexible than the old one. Sometimes, he forgot it wasn't flesh and blood.

Jane bit her lip. "I don't know a lot about that honestly, just the basic stuff. But you seem pretty nice, if a little uptight."

"Just you wait," Bucky said, unable to contain a grin. "Someday I'll save your life by being 'uptight.'"

"Does this mean you want to be my bodyguard again?" There was a hint of a blush in her cheeks that didn't go unnoticed.

"I wouldn't say no," Bucky said.

And indeed, the next time Jane Foster needed protection at an event, 'no' was the last thing on Bucky's mind.


	13. Clint and Lila for resurrectionofdawn

**Written for:** _resurrectionofdawn__. December 31st, 2017 Clint & Lila "__If you're going to dress like that, I'm not going to let you out of my sight." _

For Halloween, Cooper decided to go as Ironman.

Clint wasn't mad. Tony was a good guy and his years of drunken debauchery aside, he was wildly popular with the kids. Probably because he could fly. Falcon and Thor were fan favorites, too. He was of the opinion that shooting arrows at aliens from five hundred feet away without looking was many times cooler, but that was neither here nor there.

What really got to him was Lila's costume. He was helping Cooper attach the plastic red and gold chestplate when Lila came bounding down the stairs in a form-fitting catsuit. Complete with a zipper running down her chest, she was the spitting image of a certain co-worker of his. Lila had refused to let him see her costume before now, claiming it was a surprise and he'd have to wait. Now that he had, the knowledge was a cold dead weight on his heart.

"How do I look?" She twirled around, letting him see every inch of her tight, tight, tight outfit.

"You look great," Clint said, steadying his voice as much as possible. "Now why don't you go upstairs and put on your costume?"

Lila furrowed her brow. "This is my costume. I'm going as Aunt Nat."

_'Over my dead body you're leaving this house dressed like that,'_ Clint thought. He forced his smile to stay on. "But uh… I thought you were going as Princess Anna."

"I was Anna last year, Dad."

"Are you sure? I could've sworn-"

"Okay, is everyone ready?" Laura had chosen the absolute worst time to interrupt. She had Nathaniel in her arms. It looked like he'd just woken up from his nap. She handed the baby off to Clint and took over helping Cooper with his armor. "Honey, would you get the car going? We have to leave in five minutes if we want to get to the party on time."

"Honey," Clint said, leaning to whisper in his wife's ear. "What is our child wearing?"

"Her costume, dear," Laura answered in the same tone of voice. "You know how much she loves Natasha."

"But don't you think that costume is a bit inappropriate?" He averted his eyes as Lila spun a second time, clearly enjoying the way the catsuit fit. On closer inspection, the zipper was fake, but that did little to appease him.

"I made it for her," Lausa hissed back. "Besides, she's having fun. I know you want her to be your little girl forever-"

"She's not even ten yet!"

"-but she's growing up and you can't keep her in a bubble all her life."

Clearly, she had no idea what kind of advanced technology he had access to. Regardless, he was outnumbered and it was too late to find another costume for Lila anyway. Clint drove three miles into town with his eyes on the rearview mirror. While Cooper shot his toy propulsion blasters at invisible enemies, Lila played with a tiny black pistol. She was completely oblivious to the fear in her father's eyes.

"Please tell me that's not a real gun," Clint whispered out the corner of his mouth.

"Oh yeah, it's completely real," Laura said dryly. "Gift from Natasha. That's why I'm letting her fire it in her face."

"Don't make jokes. I'm nervous enough." There would be permanent fingermarks on the steering wheel after this.

"It's a water gun and it's not loaded. You really need to relax. I know you're not like this on missions."

"That is completely different."

Conversation halted as they pulled into the school parking lot. Cooper leaped out of the van the second Clint hit the brakes, running at the congregation of his classmates by the double doors.

"Do you think everyone will like my costume?" Lila asked.

"Of course," Laura said, cutting Clint off before he could think to comment. "You'll be the coolest girl in school."

A boy broke off from the crowd to rush over. He had sandy blonde hair and was dressed like a Ninja Turtle. He grinned, showing gums and crooked teeth. "Hi Lila, nice costume. You look just like Black Widow."

"Thanks, Robbie," Lila said with a hint of a blush. Clint's jaw flexed. He'd heard his daughter had a crush on one of her classmates. Looks like this Robbie was the boy in question.

Clint sized him up. About four feet and skinny. Freckleface, soft hands, knobbly knees. Harmless enough on the outset, but he'd had sweet old ladies pull Glocks on him more than once. Looks could always be deceiving.

"This is my dad," Lila said, taking Clint's hand and pulling him over. "He's with the Avengers. He's Hawkeye."

"Really?" Robbie's eyes bugged out as if the show of adoration would save him when he inevitably tried to steal Lila's innocence.

"Nice to meet you, Robbie," Clint said after Laura glared him into speaking. "So… did you know there are over a hundred instant kill points on the human body and I can hit every one of them from a distance of fifty feet or greater?"

Laura smacked his arm. The threat flew over Robbie's head as he jumped up and down in excitement. "That's so cool! I knew you were the best Avenger. Come on, Lila, let's go tell everyone!"

They ran ahead of Clint and Laura, disappearing into the gymnasium. After a moment, Clint spotted her again, along with Cooper and Robbie by the bleachers. They were waiting for their turn to bob for apples.

"Nice kid," Clint said. He certainly had good taste in superheroes.

"I'm sure he'll be thrilled to have your stamp of approval," Laura said. "Now, can we go home and let the kids have fun?"

"Actually, I was thinking that's a lot of kids for just seven chaperones to keep track of," he stepped away from the car into the shadows. "Maybe I'll help them out."

"Clint!"

But he was already gone, climbing up the wall, sneaking in through a window, and finding a perfect vantage point from the ceiling to see everything. No way he was letting Lila out of his sight tonight.


	14. ShieldShock for glynnisi

**Written for:** _glynnisi__. January 8th, 2018 Shieldshock "I need one of those hugs that turns into sex."_

Darcy came home with tears in her eyes, and Steve knew immediately that something was wrong. He didn't follow her right away. Darcy liked having her space and she'd come to him when she was ready. Indeed, twenty minutes later, she wandered into the living room and curled up beside him. She'd changed out of her day clothes into her pajamas. It wasn't the silky nightgown, much to his disappointment, but her ice cream sundae print pants were endearing in their own way.

"Rough day?" He wrapped an arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple.

"I saw Marcia Heeney at the mall today."

"That sucks," said Steve. "Who's Marcia Heeney?"

Darcy rested her head on his shoulder. "Just a girl I knew in high school. She has this uncanny ability to make you feel inferior to her no matter what you've accomplished. I found out she's a junior executive on Wall Street and she's engaged to a multimillionaire. Also, she got into financing after leaving behind a successful modeling career in Europe."

"So basically, she's Pepper without any class."

Darcy chuckled, and Steve kissed her again. "I know I shouldn't care what she thinks, but... I mean, she's crazy successful and I'm just an errand girl."

"You are not _just_ anything." Steve pulled her into his lap, meeting no resistance. He cuddled her close like a favorite stuffed toy. "You're helping to create interdimensional travel. That's way better than some old desk job."

"It's not just a desk job, it's Wall Street."

"It's nothing compared to you." He looked deep into her eyes, letting the truth in his words flow freely through them. She finally smiled, and he kissed her lips a few times before she buried her face in his neck and left a few featherlight pecks along his collarbone.

"I need a hug," she said.

"By that do you mean actual hug?" Steve's hands slid down her back to just above her ass. "Or do you mean sex?"

"Both," she said firmly. "I need a hug that turns into sex."

They were already hugging, so that was one part down. He stood up, taking Darcy with him. He carried her to the bedroom- she weighed nothing to him- and let her drop to the floor before removing his shirt and pants. Darcy for once was quicker than him, completely naked before he had his shirt over his head, and goddamn if she wasn't the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.

They admired each other for a time, letting the tension build. Soon enough, it was too thick to bear. Steve walked her into the wall, pressing his larger, harder body into her curvaceous form. He lifted her, prompting her to wrap her legs around him. She moaned as he attached his mouth to the base of her throat.

"You think Marcia Heeney's guy can do this?" He pressed his erect cock between her legs. He was so hard, it hurt, and he would happily spend the rest of the night showing her how hot she made him.

"Dunno," she gasped as he bit down on her unmarked skin. "Prolly not. Oh god… Steve- more."

He'd give her more, all right. He'd give her everything. And everything is just what Darcy got until they were both too exhausted to move.


	15. SamDarcy for taradawn85

**Written for:** _taradawn85__. January 8th, 2018 Sam/Darcy "Why is your hand on my ass?"_

Sam heard through the grapevine that Bucky had started seeing Jane Foster, the insanely brilliant astrophysicist who had discovered interdimensional travel via wormholes and was now in Tony Stark's inner circle of Mad Scientist types.

Naturally, he had to see it for himself.

It was nothing against Jane, whom he'd met a few times and seemed like a classy lady. He and Bucky just had an odd sort of relationship. Half the time, Sam wanted to punch his stupid smug douche face in. This wasn't one of those times, but he still had to find out how the good doctor managed to nab the ever so fearsome Winter Soldier.

He found Dr. Foster's lab empty. Strange. Tony said she was always down here at this time of day. The door was unlocked, so Sam let himself in. He kept his hands in his pockets, having been warned not to touch anything on threat of a tiny, angry scientist tearing his world asunder. While passing a table covered with papers and blinking computer monitors, he nearly jumped out of his skin when something grabbed his ass.

It was actually some_one,_ as he realized when he turned and saw an arm jutting out from under the table. Its owner crawled out, using his left ass cheek as leverage, revealing a young woman with a mess of unbrushed brown hair and askew glasses.

"Oh God," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes, "what day is it?"

He thought about answering, but he'd left his phone in his room and their current state of unexpected intimacy wasn't doing much for his ability to think.

Righting her glasses, she tried to pull herself up by Sam's ass. All that did was make his knees buckle and send him to the floor along with her. Her sleep heavy eyes suddenly burst open with newfound clarity. "Wait, you're not the wall! You're a person!"

"Yes, I am," Sam groaned, rubbing his sore behind. He was going to be feeling that all day now. "I take it that's why you had your hand on my ass."

"I'm sorry, you just have a very firm ass," she said, trying and failing to tame the curly mass on her head into something presentable. "Like really incredibly rock hard glutes going on there. You must work out a lot. I say stupid shit when I'm nervous and that's why I'm still talking. I'm gonna stop now."

Sam chuckled. He rose to his feet and helped her up while he was at it. She stumbled a bit, her lower half not yet getting the message that it was time to wake up. "Well, since we've already been introduced, I'm Sam Wilson. You must be Darcy, Jane's assistant?"

"That's me," she said like she'd rather be anyone else in the world at the moment. "I'm sorry about all that. Jane asked me to watch for atmospheric anomalies while she and Bucky ran off to have a quickie…" she checked her watch, _"ten hours ago?_ Goddamn super soldiers…"

"Believe me, I know the feeling," said Sam. There was a reason he never went running with Steve anymore. "I'll tell you what, let's go get some coffee and you can tell me all about the stupid shit Bucky gets up to. How's that sound?"

"Like you're trying to get embarrassing stories to hold over Bucky's head out of me," Darcy said, serious for all of a second before grinning. "Let's do it."

They left the lab as Darcy launched into a sordid tale about Bucky, a bottle of chocolate sauce, and one hilariously failed attempt at seduction.

This was truly the start of a beautiful friendship.


	16. NatashaSkye for agent-of-ships

**A/N: Apologies to any Russian readers for the bad google translate Russian.**

* * *

**Written for:** _agent-of-ships__. January 13th, 2018 Natasha/Skye(Daisy) soulmate fic._

Skye's soulmark was in Russian. She went through ten different languages on google translate-yes, she used google translate as a kid shut up everyone starts somewhere- before she finally got the right one. Once she knew which part of the country her one true love was from, it was time to play the waiting game.

She didn't have any major preferences in who her soulmate would be beyond the obvious. No drug abusers or physical abusers or psychotic evil villains with a perchance for blowing up elementary schools. You know, basic stuff. Gender wasn't an issue either, as Skye had found she liked men and women equally. The idea of getting a straight woman or a gay man for a soulmate had occurred to her, but the odds of that happening were three hundred million to one, so she didn't give that particular fear much weight.

What she never could've foreseen was meeting her soulmate in the Chicago slums while busting a human trafficking ring.

As it happened, the boss was originally from Moscow, and he preferred doing business in his native language. Skye had been teaching herself Russian since that google textbox produced a mangled version of the words on her skin. After a crash course in undercover work from Coulson, she was en route to the rendezvous site, memorizing her 'representative of a private business investor looking for some fresh meat' story.

The boss and his entourage were eating when she arrived. He offered to make her a plate, but Skye's character was meant to be aloof and business-like. Also, the emaciated men and women caged up behind them were killing her appetite.

"Straight to the point I see," the boss chortled in heavily accented English. "I like that in a woman."

He tickled under the chin of the beautiful, much younger woman hanging off his arm. She giggled mindlessly, twirling a piece of blonde hair around her perfectly manicured finger.

"Давайте приступим к делу," Skye said, ignoring the odd look the boss's arm candy was giving her.

Before business could begin proper, the overheard alarm blared. Instantly, every one of the boss's bodyguards was on their feet, guns drawn. Some aimed at Skye. Other's aimed at the door, behind which a growing commotion could be heard.

Skye cursed. One of their guys must've been compromised. Time for plan B.

In the time it took Skye to come to this realization and shoot out the lights, the arm candy had dispatched seven of the nine guards. She presumably got the other two in the dark. Skye was too busy cornering the boss to wonder what the hell that was all about.

After knocking the old man out with the butt of her gun, the emergency lights turned on. The scene before her was one of pure carnage, as the arm candy filched a fresh magazine off one of the dead guards and reloaded.

"Вы говорите по-английски?" she asked.

Skye's jaw unhinged. In the ambient light, she finally recognized her mysterious helper. None other than Natasha Romanov. Black Widow in the flesh.

"Holy shit, I know you," she shouted, both answering and not answering Natasha's question. "I know those words. They're on my leg."

Natasha's eyebrows had disappeared into her hair. "And I know _those_ words. They're on my ass."

Skye's cheeks heated up. She'd dreamed up a million scenarios over the years for how she'd meet her soulmate, but even knowing Black Widow's Russian background, she never dared to hope it would be her. She was just so much… _more_ than Skye.

"We're gonna need to have a long talk about this," Skye said. Gunshots rang out, separated by a flimsy metal wall. "Later."

"Definitely," Natasha nodded, taking her hand in an act of affection Skye had no idea how to respond to. "Until then, shall we?"

"Uh-huh," Skye said, swallowing a lump in her throat.

As they re-entered the fray, it occurred to Skye that none of her fantasies involved meeting while covered in the blood of their enemies either.

Oh well, the couple that slays together...

* * *

**Давайте приступим к делу, - Let's get down to business.**

**Вы говорите по-английски? - Do you speak English?**


	17. CaptainQuake for brutus-87

**Written for:** _brutus-87. January 24th, 2018 CaptainQuake, "You and I would have really attractive children."_

"Steve, come quick!"

This was not Daisy's scared voice, but rather her 'barely containing laughter' voice. As such, Steve did not come quick. He was actually quite slow, having heard the first notes of that cursed twinkling jingle long before she called him.

"I've already seen it," he said, placing a pat of butter on top of his toast.

"Come on, it's cute!"

Despite his meandering, the commercial was still running when Steve entered the living room with their breakfast. On screen, a baby ran to the actor playing his mother. Her plastic smile paired well with the saccharine voice over. "New Huggies Captain America diapers. Three times more absorbent than the leading regular diaper. For the superhero in every baby!"

Daisy applauded as the commercial ended. Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. She was worse than Bucky sometimes, and that's saying something.

"Why did I ever sign those fucking papers?" He couldn't even blame the cryogenesis for his lack of common sense. He'd signed the papers authorizing the use of his image back in 1944, back when he was young and naive and knew next to nothing about merchandising. Apparently seventy years wasn't long enough for the copyright to run out.

"Language," Daisy teased, earning a glare. "Come on, it's just the shield. It's not like they're putting your face on the diapers."

"Please don't put that thought in my head. I'm still trying to get over the people tattooing my face on their stomachs."

"Yeah, that was weird," Daisy agreed. She munched on a piece of toast, the couple falling into a comfortable silence as a trailer for the latest summer blockbuster played. After a minute, Daisy grabbed the remote and switched to a music channel.

"What are you doing," Steve asked as Daisy stood and moved her hips to the slow, sensual beats of a Marvin Gaye song.

"I was just thinking," she said, running her hands down her slender hips and smiling when Steve's eyes followed them, "it'd be nice to have some kids of our own, wouldn't it?"

She raised her arms, hiking up her already short nightgown to reveal creamy thighs and the barest hint of black panties.

"Uh…" Steve forced his mouth shut. "I mean, yes. I've thought about it…"

"You and I would have very attractive children." She gently pushed him down on the couch and straddled him, palming the growing bulge in his sweatpants. "Wanna work on that?"

She lowered her lips to brush over Steve's. That's what he assumed she was doing, but unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) for her, that was the moment his self-control shattered. He pulled her flush against him, sending them off the couch to the floor where he rolled on top of her.

"You," he said through fervent kisses, "are very bad for my health, but also very good for cheering me up."

"I do try," she gasped as he nipped at her neck.

He ripped her nightgown off, baring her breasts. Taking one nipple in his mouth, he relished her throaty moans and the growing wetness he found between her legs as he dipped into his panties.

"No child of mine," he said before he lost his ability to think, "is _ever_ wearing Captain America diapers."

Daisy nodded, pulling his face back to hers for another searing kiss. "Deal."


	18. DeadpoolDaisy for kradanvers

**Written for:** _kradanvers. January 27th, 2018 Deadpool/Daisy, __"I think I could fall madly in bed with you." _

It should've been the perfect plan. Just go to the bar where all the crooks and drug dealers hung out, extract the target, and get back to base before dinner. If everything had gone off without a hitch, Daisy would be home right now with a bowl of ice cream, watching cheesy b-movies on her phone because that was her entire social life these days. Which was fine (no really!). Not like she needed drinking buddies when she was busy saving the world every other week.

(And those stupid Avengers still wouldn't acknowledge their hard work. Jerks…)

Since the plan did not go off without a hitch, but rather four or five hitches starting with Mack giving her the wrong address, Daisy was now cornered by ten suspiciously similar looking mooks. In her head, she named them all Joe. They looked like Joes.

One Joe came at her and she snapped his neck without thinking. The rest of the Joes took exception to their fellow's death and bum rushed her. Daisy took a fighting stance and prepared for an excruciating battle. This would be the culmination of weeks of hard work tracking down the team's most elusive target yet.

Meanwhile, in the bar outside of which the fight commenced, Wade Wilson was enjoying a rare day off from his busy crime fighting schedule (read: had already filled his daily kill quota). He downed a margarita and saved the paper umbrella away for later.

"Turn around bright eeeeyes~!" He tearfully sang along to the glitchy jukebox. "Oh God, it's like Bonnie Tyler is speaking to my soul. Boy am I glad chose this bar for a meet cute with my shipmate of the day. Speaking of which, who's writing this?" He took out his phone and opened his trello app, skimming through the list of January ficlets. "Let's see here… Artemis Day? But she never writes me. She's too busy fawning over Sad Panda Barnes and Loki, God of Daddy Issues. How do I know she can do this story justice?"

The wall collapsed into itself as Daisy shook the very foundation of the building. Six Joes lay dead at her feet. The remaining three fell to their knees in the face of her awesome power. Her shirt, fists, and face were all covered in the blood of her enemies. Her teeth were bared and her chest heaving. She snapped her head from one side to the other, daring al the foolish weaklings of the world to step up and challenge her.

"...yeah, I can work with this." Deadpool slicked his hair back, or would've if he wasn't wearing a mask. He sidled up to Daisy. "Heeeey girl, I was just thinking I could fall madly in bed with you."

Daisy punched him between the eyes. Deadpool stumbled, but recovered immediately.

"Was that not good? I've got more. How about… did it hurt when you fell from the sky? Because you're definitely an angel."

Daisy punched him harder.

"So, I might have lost my phone number. Can I have yours?"

Daisy punched him a third time.

"Is your face McDonald's? Because I'm lovin' it."

Daisy stabbed him in the chest with a corkscrew.

"I should probably mention I'm not a bad guy, but this is kind of turning me on a little. Is that weird?"

Daisy shot him.

"How are you not dying?" She kept the gun trained on him as he shook the bullet off like a bee sting.

"Me and death don't really hang anymore," Deadpool shrugged. "We had a thing for a while, but it wasn't working out. Death was kind of clingy so I had to sit death down and be like, 'Babe, this has been great, but I'm just not feeling it. I think we should see other people.' We try to keep our distance from each other these days. It's awkward, you know? Lot of baggage there."

"...are you insane?"

"Sanity is relative," Deadpool balanced on the balls of his feet, "but yes, I am very much insane."

A random Joe Daisy had missed leaped out of the shadows with a pitiful excuse for a war cry. She whirled around to take him out, but Deadpool was quicker. In a flash, his katanas were out and the Joe had been sliced to ribbons.

As he bled out, Deadpool put an arm around Daisy's shoulder. "So, now that we've got that out of the way, what do you say I help you out with this whole excuse plot that only serves to facilitate us meeting?"

Daisy blinked. "If you mean my mission, then sure. You seem pretty good all things considered."

"Sweet!" Deadpool jumped up and down, clapping his hands happily. "Then we can work on that falling into bed thing, what do you say?"

"We'll see," Daisy said, walking out of the bar.

"I will take that as a solid maybe," Deadpool grinned, following after her. "Good job on this one, Artemis. Oh, and happy birthday, kradanvers! Hope you have a great day."


	19. ClintDaisy for emuforhumanrights

**A/N: Clint is single here. Also this one is smutty, so be warned.**

* * *

**Written for:** _emuforhumanrights. February 4th, 2018 Clint/Daisy, "I love when you're rough."_

Sex for Clint and Daisy was never planned, not since the first time she straddled him in Coulson's safe house after one too many drinks. Ever since that night, they met up several times a month, schedule permitting, and fucked each other's brains out until the sun came up. Oftentimes after as well.

That night, six months into the affair, they met at one of the many Marriott hotels peppered across the Midwest. It had been three weeks since their last encounter, owing in no small part to the big climatic alien threat that nearly destroyed the universe. They skipped dinner and headed back to their room. That was how Clint found himself on the bed with his pants off and his cock in Daisy's mouth.

He groaned and clutched the sheets as she lapped away at his shaft. She fondled his balls and left nail marks on his inner thigh. It stung, but he didn't care. He loved when she was rough. Her tongue and her hands worked their magic and before Clint knew it, he was in the throes of orgasm. She swallowed and climbed on top of him, leaving wet kisses on his abs and chest. He grabbed her around the waist, making her giggle. He'd learned all her ticklish spots weeks ago when they decided to experiment with handcuffs. Boy, what a night that had been. Just thinking about it made Clint hard again.

"So how've you been?" Daisy asked. Small talk was not uncommon for them in the quieter moments.

"Hanging in there," he said. "Things have been pretty quiet since Thanos."

"Yeah, they have," she agreed.

"Mostly back to the small stuff these days. Spy rings, traffickers."

"Assassination plots."

"Yup."

There was a certain irony to international terrorism being a comfortable norm in his life, but now was not the time to ponder such things. He leaned in and kissed Daisy, his lips massaging hers until she poked her tongue into his mouth and rolled on top of him. She grinded into his cock, bringing him back to full attention. Sitting up, she positioned herself to sink down on him, doing so with no preamble, just the way he liked it.

"Coulson says hi by the way," she said as she took him all the way to the hilt.

"Thanks," Clint gasped. "N-Natasha says hi, too."

"I'll let him know."

That was the end of their conversation. Daisy rode him for all he was worth and there was nothing more that needed to be said. Not until morning when they made plans for next week over breakfast, and then had a quickie in the shower.


	20. ClintBeth for ilovedaryldixonxxxme

**A/N: Clint is single here. Also this one is smutty, so be warned.**

* * *

**Written for:** _ilovedaryldixonxxxme. February 5th, 2018 Clint/Beth, smut fic.  
_

_'I guess I can mark "sleep with an Avenger" off my bucket list,_' Beth thought.

She didn't actually have a bucket list; they were too morbid. If she did have one, though, sleeping with Clint Barton probably wouldn't have been on it. Steve Rogers, maybe, but as fate would have it, Hawkeye was the one she ended up with.

Not that it bothered her. On the contrary, this was the most turned on Beth had ever been in her life, and they hadn't even undressed yet. Clint had her against the wall- he'd told her to call him that before kissing the life out of her- his muscular body pressing deliciously against her softer, more slender frame. He was just the right height for her to kiss without getting on tip-toes, and his rough hands spread fire through her skin wherever he touched.

The kiss turned rough as he pressed his tongue in. She ran her hands down his back to his ass and moaned deep in her throat. Damn, he had a great ass. She'd always been more a chest and arms girl herself, but he might make her reconsider. He reached under her shirt and unhooked her bra. Getting her shirt over her head, it fell to the floor at her feet, leaving her chest bared to his eyes. He took a nipple in his mouth, licking and sucking until she was sure she'd come from the stimulation alone. He pinched her other nipple making her gasp. Lifting his head he dragged her away from the wall to the bed, throwing her down.

He stripped down quickly, and she almost wished he hadn't. His body was amazing, and she would've liked a little show. He went for her skirt next, jerking hard on the skin tight fabric.

"Wait," Beth said, fumbling for the zipper. "I like this skirt."

He waited for her to slid it off, leaving her in blue lace panties. He licked his lips. "You like those, too?"

She shrugged. "I have more."

He ripped it aside and lifted her lower half in the air. Pressing his thick cock at the base of her entrance, he stopped short of thrusting in, waiting for her to give the okay. Beth tried to speak, but her throat was closed. She nodded instead and sighed happily when he got the message and pushed inside her.

"Fuck, you feel good," he groaned, thrusting in deeper. "Fucking good and tight."

"You… feel good… too…" She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer.

He chuckled. "You think that's good, just you wait."

She did wait, but not for long. Clint was the farthest thing from a selfish lover and he gave Beth all he had as she screamed herself hoarse. She grabbed a pillow to muffle her shrieks as he pounded into her, hitting her g-spot again and again. At one point, their position changed, with Clint seated on the bed and Beth in his lap. His biceps bulged as he held her steady. She would've grabbed onto them, but his shoulders made for perfect leverage. He was so solid and strong, it drove her crazy. It pushed her over the edge twice before he finally found his release. He growled as he came, pumping seed into the condom he'd gotten on at some point.

"Holy shit," Beth muttered, falling limp against him.

"I agree," said Clint. He pulled out slowly, allowing Beth a few minutes to catch her breath before laying back and letting her roll off him.

They sat there staring at each other, legs hanging off the bed and chests heaving. Beth wanted to say something, but the right words wouldn't come. Clint opened his mouth and almost spoke, but stopped at the first syllable. She took his hand and rubbed his knuckles, the way her parents always did. Strange how fitting an action it was.

After a while, when the afterglow wore off and Beth felt like she could move again, she said what she hoped was on both their minds. "Round two?"

Clint licked his lips. "Thought you'd never ask."


	21. CaptainQuake for plantmistress1

**Written for:** _plantmistress1. February 7th, 2018 Steve/Daisy, "Can I put you on my to-do list?"  
_

Daisy Johnson was completely, absolutely, one hundred percent done with secret agents and superheroes.

Every time she thought she might have fallen for one, he either went evil or died or went evil AND died. Heartbreak ran deep, and for a long time, she was ready to give up on love and hole away with her computer until her hair turned grey. Frankly, enough was enough. It was time to go back to the real world and find some nice, normal men to date.

Trouble is, finding nice, normal men is hard when you're also a secret agent and a superhero (sort of). With precious few options available in her day to day life, she turned to that almighty resource: the internet.

Online dating was just about everything the critics said it was. The first guy she messaged immediately sent her dick pics. She was almost impressed until she spotted the porn website URL at the bottom of the page. She replied with a link to some basic editing programs and blocked him. The next few guys were okay, mostly introverted computer geeks like her. They messaged back and forth for a day until the conversation tapered off into awkward discussions of the weather.

She managed to get a date a week later with a guy named Louis. He worked in the IT department for some major marketing company Daisy didn't know the name of. Sparks weren't exactly flying, but he was smart and told good jokes. Plus, he took a damn good picture.

They arranged to meet at an upscale bar restaurant in Brooklyn. That place sure had changed since the last time Daisy saw it. She choose her favorite pink dress with matching pumps and curled her hair. Stylish, but not expecting anything. If she'd ever been a 'kiss on the first date' girl before, she sure as hell wasn't now.

She got to the restaurant ten minutes late, thanks in no small part to her dick of a cab driver taking the long way to get more money. She gave him exactly what she owed, with an extra penny for his troubles. _'Don't spend it all in one place,' _she thought as he tore off to go inconvenience someone else.

Inside was packed. Amorous young couples and families with screaming kids all waited anxiously in the lobby to be seated. Daisy grimaced as she bumped five different people on her way to the hostess table. This was why _she_ suggested pizza.

"Excuse me?" she shouted over a cacophony of voices. "I have a reservation!"

"Name please," the hostess yelled back.

She gave her Louis's last name and adjusted her purse as the woman consulted her computer. She read down the list and scowled. "I'm sorry, we don't have a reservation under that name at the moment."

Daisy furrowed her brow. "Are you sure you spelled it right?"

The hostess looked pretty sure, but she was nice enough to do a new search just in case. When it once again came up empty, Daisy thanked her for her time and retreated to the bar. There was a single vacant seat in between a woman screaming into her phone and a man in a baseball cap flipping through a small notepad. Daisy squeezed past them and took out her phone.

_'Hey, are you here? They couldn't find our reservation. I'm waiting by the bar so hurry up and come get me. ;)'_

She spent the next two minutes searching for Louis's dark head in the crowd until her phone buzzed.

_'You actually went? Wow. Didn't think you were that desperate. Sad.'_

She read it five more times. Or maybe more. It was hard to keep track when her eyes were watering and she was fighting the urge to chuck her phone through the nearest window. She forced it back into her bag and put her head in her hands. Of course. Should've known her shitty luck would lead her to an asshole with a sick sense of humor. What did she expect, Prince Charming?

"Uh...miss? Are you okay?"

It was the man in the baseball cap. He was spectacularly underdressed for this setting, but one look into those blue eyes of his, and he was the classiest, most handsome guy in the room.

So awestruck was Daisy, she couldn't stop her mouth from moving. "I was supposed to go on a date with a guy I met online but he stood me up and made fun of me in a text message… also I'm never using a wink emoji again… also you're Steve Rogers."

Steve almost smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Yes I am, but that's awful. I can't believe he did that to you."

Daisy shrugged, hiding her tears behind a few locks of hair. "It's not your fault. At least now I know to talk to a guy for at least a week before I accept a date."

"Well, I'll tell you one thing," Steve said, smiling for real this time, "he's the biggest loser this world ever spat out. He gets a chance with a gorgeous dame like you and _this_ is what he does with it?"

He balled his fists as if contemplating what it would be like to use Louis's head as a punching bag. Never before had Daisy blushed so hard in her life. "You don't have to say that."

"Just telling it like it is," he said. "In fact, I'm liable to step in and show you a real good time tonight. If you'll let me."

Okay, this was definitely a dream. Daisy was definitely asleep, or else _Captain America himself _had actually just asked her out. She pinched herself. She didn't even bother to hide it. Steve laughed deep in his chest. The sound was enough to melt panties. "I'm serious. Would you like to have dinner with me tonight?"

_'I'd like to do a lot of things with you tonight,'_ Daisy's head was spinning and she just barely kept herself from speaking that thought out loud. She coughed, putting on a facade of casualness. "I think I can put you on my to-do list, but don't you have someone to meet here?"

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, but he cancelled last minute to go on a date."

Daisy snorted. They were just two peas in a pod already. Sliding off the bar stool, she looped her arm around his and led him out the door. "How about some pizza? This place is nice, but it's a little too stuffy for my taste."

Steve laughed. "Took the words right out of my mouth, Doll."

Maybe superheroes weren't so bad after all.


	22. ShieldShock for elrondsscribe

**Written for:** _elrondsscribe. April 8th, 2018 Steve/Darcy, "I watch to watch you." Smut fic.  
_

Steve Rogers had the best tongue in the world, as confirmed by Official Steve Rogers Sexual Prowess expert, Darcy Lewis.

Not that she'd been acquainted with that many tongues in her life, but the one other guy who'd been willing to go down on her didn't hold a candle to this. With her fingers tangled in Steve's hair, Darcy bit back a scream as he sucked ravenously on her clit. His strong hands clamped down on her thighs, kneading the supple flesh. His beard rubbed against her leg, stinging in the best of ways. She came hard after barely a minute, and Steve trailed light kisses up her abdomen to her breasts. He played with her nipples a bit as the waves of her orgasm slowly left her.

"Was that okay?" he asked shyly, very much unlike the magnificent sex god he'd definitively proven himself to be.

"Ask me in five minutes," Darcy panted. "I can't think right now."

He crawled up the bed to lay beside her, showing off a truly majestic naked form the likes of which those puffed up ancient Roman artists never could've imagined.

Statue of David? More like Statue of Loser.

And speaking of works of art, Darcy could not take her eyes off Steve's cock. Thick, veiny, and fully erect, it sat within a patch of hair (curtains matched the drapes), just begging to be touched. Or licked. Or slammed into Darcy over and over again until she saw stars.

"If you want to stop, we can," Steve said. "You look worn out."

"You kidding? We've barely even started." She sat on her side, giving him bedroom eyes. "How about you let me watch you?"

She glanced once more at his cock, licking her lips. He blushed slightly, but the innocent virgin everyone believed him to be was an illusion. The real Steve… well, that was between them and the sheets, so to speak.

He wrapped his hand around his shaft, hesitating a moment before slowly pumping himself. A bead of pre-cum had already formed at the tip and Darcy longed to clean it off for him. She stayed strong and devoured him only with her eyes as he picked up the pace. His breaths became shallow and his chest heaved. He didn't come right away, and the longer he held out, the more Darcy wanted to pounce on him and ride him into oblivion.

She was soaking wet and touching herself along with him at this point. Her clit was still sensitive from his earlier ministrations, and the brush of her index finger nearly sent her back over the edge.

She still came much sooner than him, even though he'd been at it for longer. The rumors about supersoldier stamina were pretty well known, and Darcy was happy to prove them one hundred percent true. When Steve did come, he came hard. They'd have to wash these sheets later.

He rolled on his back, dragging Darcy on top of him. She was well on her way to her third orgasm of the night as Steve pressed their stomachs together. They kissed lazily for a bit until something hard poked at Darcy's leg. She groaned. "Are you serious? It's barely been two minutes."

Steve shrugged. "Can't help it. Not when there's a gorgeous naked dame in my lap."

"Don't start the fifties lingo," Darcy said, nipping at his earlobe.

"I'm just trying to be a gentleman."

"You just ate me out and whacked off for me. I think we're way past gentlemanly here."

Steve hummed, then smiled wickedly as he positioned Darcy over the tip of his cock and sunk her all the way down. "Good point."


	23. ShieldShock for pegasusdragontiger

**Written for:** _pegasusdragontiger. April 25th, 2018 Steve/Darcy, "You and I would have really attractive children."  
_

"What if I cast a spell on him?"

"What if you talked to him?"

"But that would be awful, wouldn't it? I'd be taking the choice away from him."

"Or you could talk to him."

"Maybe I could brew one of those pheromone enhancing potions. Then I'd be completely irresistible. Yeah! I'd only need about three days to make it."

"You could also just _talk to him?"_

"Come on, Jane!" Darcy slammed her fist on the desk and rounded on her annoying best friend, who laid herself out leisurely on the couch like she hadn't a care in the world. "If you're not going to say anything helpful, how about don't say anything at all?"

"I am being helpful."

"No you're not, you're being sensible and logical as if that's what I need right now. I know you don't get it because sexiness is written into your DNA, but some of us have to actually work to get a date."

"Since when do I have sexiness in my DNA?" Jane asked as she sipped her glass of blood and licked the excess off her inch-long fangs. She moaned at the taste and her red eyes darkened as her hunger was sated.

Darcy groaned and put her head down. "There has got to be an easier way to do this. How am I ever going to tell Steve I like him if I can't even be in the same room with him without turning myself invisible?"

"Or into a potted plant," Jane chuckled, referring to an incident from two months ago when Darcy ran into not only Steve but half his pack at the mall. Her panicked reaction in the middle of a crowded store nearly gave one sweet old lady a heart attack. Plus it took her ages to get all the leaves out of her hair. She'd almost successfully purged the whole thing from her memory, so thank Jane for one more spectacular display of uselessness.

"Yeah, I'm so glad you were amused," Darcy snapped. "Because I sure wasn't. And neither were any of those people who thought they were suffering a mass hallucination."

"You wouldn't have this problem if you'd just suck it up and talk to him," said Jane as she poured over one of her many star charts. "At least drop some hints. He's a werewolf, not a mind reader."

"Okay but…" Darcy twiddled her thumbs like the scared virgin she most certainly was not. "What if I got him a puppy?"

Jane facepalmed, and likely would've continued to goad Darcy until the sun came up. Her face changed as she glanced out the window, a gleeful smile wiping away all traces of exasperation. "Speak of the devil. Looks like we have company."

Darcy made a huge mistake. She followed Jane's eyes. There, strolling down the street with an almost full moon overhead, was Steve Rogers. Looking like a delicious snack in a skin-tight blue t-shirt and jeans. Darcy's stomach flip-flopped, then dropped into her feet.

"Oh my god." She dove for the couch and hid her head under a pillow. "Did he see me?"

"Not yet, but he will," Jane said, her voice low and full of evil.

"No way!" Darcy shouted. "I'm not going out there and you can't make me!"

She blinked once, and she was outside. The wind blew at her face, numbing her cheeks. She didn't need to ask how it happened. The tingling sensation of hands-on her brain told her all she needed to know even before she saw Jane's eyes swirling with hypnotic power.

"I hate you," Darcy muttered, "I really hate you right now."

"Whatever. Just go." Jane pushed her forward.

Darcy held her ground, digging her feet into the dirt. She would cast a spell to bury herself were she not fairly sure Jane would spend all night digging her out. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she listened to Steve's steps grow louder. There was another set walking in time with his. Their voices carried far in the quiet of the night and Steve's melodic laughter as Bucky recounted whatever stupid thing his pack was up to made her toes curl.

"He looks busy," she said weakly. "We should wait. Try again tomorrow. Or next week or something."

Jane rolled her eyes and, as soon as the two men were in view, glided across the street like some kind of ethereal night goddess. She twirled around Bucky, cutting him off mid-word. She whispered something in his ear and then nibbled on it for good measure. Bucky's eyes turned gold and he growled hungrily as Jane led him away. She winked at Darcy before the two of them disappeared into the shadows, and it was all Darcy had in her not to scream.

_'Stupid sexy vampires…'_

"I guess we've been abandoned," Steve said, ambling over like he had no idea Darcy was quietly dying from proximity to him.

"Uh-huh…" she choked out. "I uh… I guess we'll uh… we…"

_'Did you cast a tongue-tying spell on yourself? MAKE COMPLETE SENTENCES GODDAMMIT!'_

"So how's your day going?"

_'Nailed it.'_

"Not bad," Steve said, stretching his arms and giving Darcy a fantastic up close and personal look at his muscles. There go her panties. "Pretty tiring. My pack didn't have the best hunt tonight and neither did Bucky's. We might have to knock some heads in later."

"Just alpha problems, huh?"

Steve chuckled. "Pretty much. That and teaching kids how to hunt and get used to transforming. It's been pretty rough since Clint's son turned thirteen."

"Yeah, I bet," Darcy said, "regular puberty is bad enough. I can't imagine what werewolf puberty is like."

"Let's just say not fun."

Darcy laughed and so did Steve. The twisting fear in her gut had lessened significantly, making her think this might actually go well.

_'Okay Darcy, you're on a roll now. You can make this work. Just don't say anything stupid.'_

"I bet you and I would have awesome kids."

Everything stopped.

_'OH MY GOD! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? I SAID DON'T SAY ANYTHING STUPID NOT SAY THE STUPIDEST THING POSSIBLE HOLY SHIT RUN. RUN NOW. RUN FAST AND FAR AND NEVER STOP UNTIL YOU COLLAPSE AND DIE. THEN BURY YOURSELF. WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST BURY YOURSELF WHEN YOU HAD THE CHANCE. WHY-'_

To silence the hysterically screaming in her head, Darcy coughed. "That was a joke. I didn't mean that. I meant… something that wasn't that. Something that doesn't remotely resemble what I just said. Because obviously I'd never say that or…"

Her mind cleared, allowed her to take in the shock etched on Steve's face. His eyes bulged, his lips caught between a smile and a frown. Somehow, he was still sexy as hell with an expression that bizarre.

"Uh…" Darcy shook her head which felt ready to explode. She took a stance and waved her arms at him. "You are now under my power! You are now- where's my wand?"

Darcy searched her pockets but came up empty. Of all the days for her to forget it. In her desperation, she failed to notice his shadow over her head. Then he touched her shoulder and she froze.

"Darcy, it's okay," he said. "I know what you're trying to say."

She rubbed her eyes. "You do?"

"I do," he said. "If you wanted to go out with me, all you had to do was ask."

Darcy licked her lips. God, he was beautiful up close. She was glad he wasn't in wolf form tonight. Those lupine, goldenrod eyes of his were sexy in a dangerous kind of way, but God, his baby blues did things to her. "Okay, well… do you want to go out sometime?"

"Yes, I would," he said, squeezing her hand. "I'm free now if you're up for it."

"You bet your perfect ass I am," she said, not even caring if she seemed overeager. "Let's go. I'm starving." _'And not just for food.'_

"How about that twenty-four-hour diner next to the laundromat? They have the best cherry pie in the world."

"Works for me." Darcy clung to him as they walked down the street, content to never let him go and never again fear embarrassing herself around him. '_I guess Jane was right. I really did just need to talk to him…_

_'Note to self: never ever tell Jane she was right.'_


	24. Pepperony for spoonlesslupie

**Written for:** _spoonlesslupie. May 5th, 2018 Pepperony crack, post-engagement but pre-wedding.  
_

Pepper walked into the living room to find Tony polishing one of his older Ironman suits on the couch. She took her usual spot by the fireplace and flipped through some quarterly reports that needed her signature by Monday. Once again, they'd overshot their production budget. The poor overworked accountants had been crunching the numbers all night. Pepper made a note to up their Christmas bonus this year. Lord knows they deserved it.

"Aren't you going to ask?"

Pepper didn't look up. "Ask what?"

"About the suit." She might as well have questioned his intelligence for how appalled he was. "Don't you want to know why I'm polishing it in the living room?"

"Tony, I've known you for almost half my life. I stopped asking questions long before you decided to become a superhero."

He pursed his lips. "Was it the time I came home with six alpacas after my fortieth birthday party?"

"Around then, yeah." She made the mistake of glancing up, and of course, he'd broken out the puppy dog eyes. Bastard. "Okay, fine. Why are you polishing the suit in the living room?"

Like a kid at Christmas. "I'm glad you asked. You know how at weddings there's that traditional thing where the bride has something old, something new, you know the rest."

She did, and she suddenly wished she didn't. "No."

"So I got to thinking this old Mach 7 is still fully functional even if by technological standards it's beyond obsolete-"

"Tony, no."

"It's an old suit that I'd be loaning you. That's the borrowed part-"

"Tony."

"I could add some new parts and spray paint it blue, which is an incredible sacrifice on my part. I hope you understand that-"

"Tony! I am not wearing an Ironman suit at our wedding!" She stood up so fast, her paperwork went flying. Pages of meticulously organized reports were in a heap at her feet. Another thing to smack him upside the head for. "Why would you ever think that's a good idea?"

"Hey, easy there," he said, hands raised. "That's not at all what I meant."

"Yes, it is!"

"Well… okay, what if it walks you down the aisle?"

"My dad is going to do that."

"But your dad hates me!"

"He does _not_ hate you, Tony."

"He set his dogs on me at Christmas. I really liked those pants, you know."

"I'm still not wearing that suit at our wedding."

Tony pouted. It was significantly less effective than the puppy eyes; Pepper had long since become immune to that quivering lip of his. "Okay then… I could design you a new suit!"

"I'm not wearing any suit _and neither are you__,"_ she pointed an accusatory finger at him before he could open his mouth. "So don't get any ideas."

"I wasn't even thinking that!"

"Yes, you were."

He pouted some more. And folded his arms. Amazing how a man pushing fifty could look so much like a five-year-old. "Is there anything fun you'll let me do?"

A few things came to mind right away, but none of them were suitable for a wedding. After the wedding maybe, but that was a matter for another day. For now, Pepper gathered her papers into a neat and semi reorganized pile. Her ring glittered in the light, banishing her exasperation and filling her with an indescribable warmth. She couldn't wait until a gold band sat under it.

"How about this?" Tony threw aside his stained polish rag. "You let me remake your dress in hot rod red and gold titanium."

Pepper choked on air. "Are you serious?"

"Come on! You'd look amazing, and then millions of women around the world will copy you. Think of the trends you'd set."

"Think of my mother having a heart attack," Pepper said. "I'm wearing my grandma's dress, you know."

"Don't you think your grandma would want you to look badass on your big day?"

"I think she'd want me to look like a bride. Brides wear white."

"FRIDAY, change of plans," Tony called out. "We're painting the suit in white now. Scratch the blue."

"You got it, Boss. What about the usher and caterer suits? We still doing black?"

"Of course. Only my lovely bride gets to stand out." He winked at Pepper.

She pinched the bridge of her nose as Tony walked over and kneeled beside her. "Why am I marrying you again? Remind me."

"FRIDAY. Pull up that list of all seven hundred and forty-three qualities that make me a perfect husband-to-be for Pepper."

The list appeared on one of the holographic screens set up around the room. It scrolled up at a rate too fast to read, not that Pepper would've tried. "Somehow, I thought the list would be longer."

Tony shrugged. "What can I say? I'm a humble guy."

It was about that time Pepper decided Tony should stop talking. She pulled him up by his shirt and gave his mouth something better to do.


	25. ShieldShock for calbeebellona

**Written for:** _calbeebellona. May 7th, 2018 ShieldShock "Their pick-up line wasn't as good as any of mine, I'm just saying."  
_

The Avengers had fans. Steve knew this, yet it was still a bit surreal to walk through the halls of Javits Center and see twenty-one people dressed in homemade Captain America costumes of varying levels of quality.

He himself had suited up for the occasion. The shield strapped to his back felt heavier than normal and he was sweating under his helmet. So far, no one had recognized him. Tony had explained it to him while insisting he couldn't go to any fan event in plain clothes and sunglasses.

"Do you have any idea how shady that looks? Pun half intended," he said with the beginnings of a grin. "If you really want to do this, you have to go whole hog. Get in there and work that suit like the real Captain America."

"I _am_ the real Captain America," Steve had said.

"And that's exactly why no one will notice you."

Steve didn't have to be a genius to know that didn't make any sense. And yet, he'd been walking around the convention all day, attending panels, browsing the dealer's room, buying a few things, and not a single person had anything to say about the Actual Real Steve Rogers in their midst except, 'Awesome cosplay, dude.'

"Maybe we should go," Steve muttered to Bucky after they'd been asked to pose for pictures for the hundredth time. "Pretty soon, someone's going to figure out we're not just fans in costumes."

Bucky, clad in black pants, combat boots, and a black jacket with the left sleeve ripped off, punched his shoulder. "Come on, Punk. I thought you were having fun. This _was_ your idea."

"I know," said Steve. He quickly averted his eyes as a girl with his face plastered all over her clothes ran by. "I didn't think it'd be so… this."

A man with a distended gut and a cheap shaggy brown wig walked by in an amateurish Winter Soldier costume. His entire right arm was wrapped in aluminum foil, complete with a crudely drawn red star. He caught sight of Bucky and paused to give him a once over. "Your Bucky costume's not bad, but that's the wrong arm."

He waved his right arm, allowing bits of foil to fall off, and then disappeared into the crowd as Bucky's jaw fell. "It is NOT the wrong arm!"

He clenched his fists as Steve made a token effort not to laugh at his best friend's pain. "Come on, Buck. I thought you were having fun."

"Bite me," Bucky stomped off towards the refreshments table, and that was probably the last Steve would see of him for hours.

He wandered into the main corridor, filing past kids with toy propulsion blasters and young women in catsuits and red wigs. A few more fans asked for photos. One of them wore a shirt that loudly proclaimed she was Steve Rogers' future wife. He fake smiled like a champ and made a beeline for the dealer's room as soon as the overly touchy girl set him free.

It was less crowded than before. Steve could actually move without fear of crushing someone's foot. He stayed close to the walls, ignoring the multitude of Hawkeyes, Thors, and even a few Lokis hanging around. A few booths away, a bespectacled young woman in blue jeans and plaid would have been the most average person he'd seen all day, if not for the signs she was carrying.

SUPPORT JANE FOSTER!

JANE FOSTER WAS ABLE TO BUILD A BRIDGE TO ASGARD IN THE DESERT WITH A BOX OF CAR PARTS.

JANE ONCE PUNCHED A NORSE GOD IN THE FACE. CAN _YOU_ PUNCH NORSE GODS IN THE FACE? JANE FOSTER IS BETTER THAN YOU.

A shirtless man covered in green body paint sidled up to her, his grin a perfect contrast to her irate frown. "Hey, babe. Wanna hang out later?"

"That depends," she said, "do you want to talk about how Jane Foster is unfairly treated by so-called Avengers fans and denied credit for her scientific innovations by drooling fangirls with internet access and delusions of becoming Asgardian royalty?"

The shirtless man blinked. "Uh… Jane who?"

She rolled her eyes and kept walking in Steve's direction. From up close, he could almost say he knew her, but her name escaped him. "Do you need help holding those signs?"

He hadn't meant to speak. The words just popped out of his mouth of their own volition. The young woman brightened. "See? That right there is a much better line. Here you go."

She handed him the 'Punched a Norse God' sign and Steve made a note to ask Thor about that later. He had a feeling he knew which god got punched and that was a story he needed to hear.

"My real pick-up lines are much better," Steve said, earning a smile from the girl whose name had finally popped into his head. "It's Darcy, right? Darcy Lewis?"

"Yup," she said as they re-entered the hall. "I guess you've seen the pics online. I've been working with Jane for years and last week I made the mistake of looking at the Avengers fan forums. There was a lot of bullshit on there about Thor dumping Jane because she's 'boring' or that she dumped him because 'she's a bitch'. As if the woman just sprang into existence when Thor needed a muggle girlfriend and her life has no meaning outside of him. For fuck's sake, they broke up mutually. They're still friends and Jane was working her ass off on that bridge since before Thor was even a thing."

"That's awful," Steve said. This was why he stopped going to the fan forums after the first time. That and the rather… suggestive art people drew of him and Bucky. Or worse, him and Tony.

"I even found this website, janefostersux. And that's 'sucks' with an X because who cares about proper spelling when you're an unemployed, basement-dwelling edgelord. I told Tony about it and he broke through the firewalls and filled every webpage with pictures of omelets. I'm not sure why omelets. I guess he was just hungry, but it killed traffic to the site so I can't complain." She heaved a long sigh. "Anyway, thanks for listening to me ramble."

"No problem," Steve said. They stopped in the hotel lounge for a break, leaving their signs at their feet as they took the last empty spots on the last empty couch. "I think it's great that you're doing all this. Dr. Foster deserves to be respected."

"Got that right." She reached into her bag and pulled out a spiral notebook decorated with science stickers. "I'm collecting signatures from fans to give to Jane later. You in?"

"Of course," Steve said. He wrote a quick note for Jane, who would probably be amused to learn how he finally met her legendary intern.

"Aw, you're awesome," Darcy said, with a smile that made Steve's stomach flip. "And you're the best Captain America cosplayer I've seen all day. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were the real thing."

Steve coughed and rubbed his neck. "Well, actually…"


	26. BuckyMantis for writingcalmsthemind

**Written for:** _writingcalmsthemind. May 11th, 2018 Bucky/Mantis, "Were you dreaming of me?"  
_

Bucky only slept well with Mantis around. Every morning, he awoke to her fingers on his forehead and her soft, accented voice in his ear.

"Wake up," she'd say, sweet as a songbird.

The first time they did this, he nearly took her head off. Years of mental conditioning followed by years on the run had instilled in him that anyone hovering over him while he slept was a threat and should be destroyed without prejudice. Weeks later, his fight or flight instinct had finally dulled (at least around her) and now her blinking black eyes and glowing antennae were the first thing he saw every morning.

She backed away as he sat up, stretching his tired muscles and working out the kinks in his neck. The mouthwatering scent of fresh bacon wafted in from the kitchen. His empty stomach whined, desperate to be filled.

"You are hungry," said Mantis.

His stomach rumbled again, as if in response. "Heh… guess you don't have to be an empath to know."

Bucky felt around on the floor for a shirt. He'd gone to bed without one, the summer heat smothering him even though it was only May. Mantis waited for him by the door, as unaffected by his shirtlessness as she'd ever been. He could probably strut around the room naked as the day he was born, and she'd just smile and nod like everything was normal.

"Did you have good dreams?"

He saw the question coming. She asked it every day even though the answer never changed. "I don't know. Can't remember."

He only ever remembered the nightmares.

"I hope I've helped you rest easier, Sergeant Barnes," Mantis said, a slight blush coloring her cheeks.

"Mantis, you help more than you know," he said. Sometimes, he thought he could kiss her for how much she helped him get through the nights. Sometimes, he could kiss her period. "And please, just call me Bucky."

"Oh, yes of course… Bucky." She giggled like she'd just said something sinful. Given the light stirring in his loins, maybe she had. "I'm so glad. You've become so much happier."

"Course I have," he said, "I got a beautiful dame like you to light up my day."

She turned even redder. Her antennae couldn't shine so bright if it tried. "You are much more eloquent awake than when you dream of me."

Bucky started to nod, and then his brain seemed to collapse into itself. "Uh… what?"

"You have dreamed of me," she said, a little louder like she thought he didn't hear her the first time. "Many times you've called my name in your sleep. Sometimes, I answer, but you never wake up."

"I… didn't know that." He tried to think back. The last thing he remembered was going to bed last night. Then complete oblivion. Not even a stupid HYDRA nightmare. Nothing.

"Sometimes you sound like you're in pain," she said, her pitch black eyes brimming with concern. "You start _moaning_ my name and I-"

"Hey! Why don't we go and get some breakfast?" Bucky shouted. Because they were alone and he was still shirtless and there was absolutely no way this conversation was going in that direction. Not now. "I'm starving. Are you starving? You must be starving."

He grabbed his shirt from last night. It still had a ketchup stain from his and Sam's impromptu French Fry battle to the death, but it would do for now. They walked together to the kitchen. Bucky took three steps before he realized he'd grabbed Mantis's hand to pull her along. He immediately dropped it, but out the corner of his eye, those stupid antennae were glowing.

"You are filled with passion and need," she said. "I haven't felt anything so strong since Peter with Gamora."

"How 'bout that," Bucky muttered. This was shaping up to be the worst day of his life. Maybe he should've slept in.

Without warning, Mantis took his hand again. She rubbed his knuckles, stopping him dead in his tracks. "You know, I have passion, too."

...on second thought, maybe it would be a good day.


	27. RemyBeth for marvelfanuniverse

**Written for:** _marvelfanuniverse. May 20th, 2018 Remy/Beth, "Can I borrow a kiss? I promise I'll give it back."  
_

Going to Atlantic City for Beth's 25th birthday had seemed like a great idea on paper. So far, it was good in practice, too. Sure, she hadn't won more than five dollars at the slots and the less said about her poker skills the better, but the food was good and there were at least a few hot guys roaming the casinos.

One of them she was fairly certain was a romance novel cover come to life. There was simply no other way she could fathom anyone that attractive existing in the real world. Even stranger was the number of glances he'd sent her way since she sat down at the blackjack table next to his. She'd kept her head down since she first noticed him, assuming he was looking at someone behind her. It was nice to think she was the one who'd caught his attention, but while Beth wasn't ugly, she was no beauty queen either. That guy, whoever he was, was so far out of her league they weren't even playing the same game. He was playing major league baseball. She was playing stickball in an old vacant lot.

After hitting on seventeen and getting a six, Beth took her remaining chips and decided to grab some more shrimp cocktails at the buffet. Her mystery man had vanished. Perhaps he had never been there at all. Just her sex hungry brain playing tricks on her. It _had_ been a while since her and her ex split up.

Counting her chips proved less than encouraging. She was down to a third of what she'd come in with.

_'Started from the bottom, now I'm lower,' _she snorted to herself. _'And here I thought 25 was my lucky number.'_

As she walked, she passed a group of men in suits and sunglasses. They paid her no mind, but talked among themselves in hushed voices she'd have to strain to hear. Had this been an isolated incident, Beth wouldn't have given it more than a second's thought, but with identical men in black loitering at all the exits, she was starting to think she should've tried the Tropicana.

_'They're just security guards,'_ she told herself. It would've been a perfect explanation if not for her gut feeling that these guys were trouble.

To avoid getting caught in any potential crossfire, Beth stuck to large crowds and put as much space between herself and the men as possible. The buffet was in sight and only a few tables were empty. There were no scary secret agent guys getting food at the moment and she breathed a little easier.

She kept an eye out for them, completely missing the man standing stock still in her path. Running into him was like hitting a brick wall. He didn't move an inch as Beth grasped around for leverage. The next thing she knew, he'd spun around with inhuman speed and caught one of her hands. He held on as she regained her balance. By then, Beth had recognized him as her mystery man from the poker table.

"Uh…" she stammered, "th-thanks."

He smiled. "My pleasure, Chère."

Oh God, his voice was like liquid chocolate. There should be a law against one person being so hot in so many ways.

Before Beth could answer and possibly hear more of that sinful baritone, his attention turned to something over her shoulder. His eyes narrowed, and seemed to glow in the harsh light of the casino.

"Are you-" He dragged her away from the crowd before she could say 'okay'.

"I offer you my sincerest apologies," he said urgently, "but can I borrow a kiss?"

"Wha-" was all she got out before pulled her into his powerful embrace.

He didn't kiss like he said, but hovered his lips over hers, their foreheads touching and their breath mingling. He smelled like fancy cologne and felt like he was made of cast iron. Beth's hands were frozen on his biceps and she wanted so bad to drag them along his arms. Over his shoulder, she saw ten men in black walk by. They didn't spare the 'lovebirds' a second glance and kept moving. Her mystery man backed off as soon as they were gone.

"They_ are_ following me," he muttered.

"Um..." Beth couldn't get much more out than that. Her head was spinning, her body crying out from the loss of his touch.

He pushed open the emergency door, which she just now realized was there. "You should go, chère. There will be a mass evacuation in less than two minutes. I would hate for such a lovely woman to be trampled."

He winked and coaxed Beth outside, then shut the door behind her. It didn't have a handle on the other side. Beth stared at the door, wanting to pry it open with her bare hands, but also thinking she should go back to her room, take a cold shower, and slip into bed with her good friend B.O.B.

That was before gunshots pierced the night, followed by blaring sirens and screams as people rushed for the exits. Beth avoided getting trampled as the doors flung open. Out came a hundred panicking tourists, their money and souvenirs abandoned. She followed them away from the casino as a dozen police cars and the SWAT team showed up. That was the last Beth saw before the police cleared the area. That and the silhouette of a single man inside the casino, fighting a group of men by himself and winning.

* * *

Beth made it back to the hotel in one piece and immediately went for the TV. Every news station was reporting on the Casino attack, but no one seemed to know for sure what had happened.

_'So far, no suspects or motive for the bombing have been released to the public. Stay tuned for more updates here on-'_

"It wasn't a bombing," Beth muttered as she changed the channel. "That was textbook superhero stuff."

She was from Manhattan. She was an expert on these things.

* * *

The next day, Beth took breakfast in the lobby. Her limited funds meant she had to settle for a cheaper hotel on the outskirts of the city, but at least they had good coffee. The daily newspapers screamed about the big casino fight, but skimming the articles revealed they were as clueless as anyone else.

Beth had finished her coffee when a long, dark shadow appeared over her. "May I join you?"

Her heart stopped. She didn't dare believe it, but that voice was unmistakable. "I… I mean…"

Her mystery man, as beautiful in the light of day as he'd been in the dark of night, smiled at her. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to intrude."

"No, I- I just…" Beth paused to gather her thoughts. "I don't know who you are."

That came out much harsher than she intended, but the man just chuckled. "Of course. Where are my manners?" He held out a hand. "Remy LeBeau. A pleasure to meet you."

She took his hand slowly, worried for a second that something might come out of it like fire or some kind of energy blast. "Beth Jackson. Nice to meet you, too. Are you a guest here?"

"For now," he said cryptically. "I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night. I hope I didn't scare you."

"Not at all," Beth said, which wasn't entirely true, but they could argue semantics later. "I'm glad you got out okay. It looks something really bad happened."

He hummed thoughtfully and took a seat across from her. There was something strange about his eyes that she couldn't quite place. Or maybe that was just her looking for an excuse to stare into them.

"If you'd allow it, I'd like to make it up to you. May I take you to lunch?"

_'This has got to be a dream,'_ Beth thought. She discreetly pinched herself on the arm, but somehow, she didn't wake up on her rickety cot back home in Midtown. That meant this sinfully charming and gorgeous French guy was both real and really asking her out on a date.

Come to think about it, how did he know she'd be at this hotel? And how did he know the casino would be attacked yesterday?

That man she saw fighting all those bad guys by himself. Could it be... nah.

"I'd love to," Beth said. "I mean, if you really want to."

His grin was utterly sinful. "I want nothing more, Chère."


	28. Lokane for tonaathena1996

**Written for:** _tonaathena1996. June 10th, 2018 Lokane, "candlelight kisses"  
_

She called it a cupcake. It was green with yellow and black sprinkles, a single candle sticking out of the center. As a dessert, it fell short. He could eat the whole thing in one bite. The last time he partook in cake, it spanned the entire table and everyone got second, third, even fourth helpings. How Midgardians could subsist on such meager portions, he'd never know. He almost envied them. Almost.

"I don't understand," he said as Jane lit the candle. "How am I to eat it if you're burning it?"

Jane rolled her eyes. "Loki, come on. I've been to Asgard. I know you guys have candles."

"Yes, but we don't put them in our food."

"Then consider this your first lesson in Midgardian birthday customs." She held up the cupcake, the flame dancing but not going out. "Rule number one: if you want your birthday wish, you have to blow out your candles."

"The candle will grant my wish."

"Not really, but it's tradition, so go on."

Loki took the cupcake. He watched the flame flicker. A bead of wax dripped down the candle and he banished it before it hit the frosting. He turned it all around, examining it from each side. It smelled sweet and had a spongy texture. If he applied even the tiniest bit of pressure, it would fall apart in his hands.

"Interesting color," he remarked.

"I got them specially made just for you," she said proudly. "In the original recipe, they came out red."

"A truly deplorable color," he said, ignoring Jane's teasing grin. "Now then, onto my wish…"

He ran a finger down her cheek, her skin soft and supple and so perfectly warm. Her eyes fluttered closed as he lifted her face, just to meet his lips to hers. Their kiss was chaste and over far too quick. She sighed as he pulled away, but he blocked her searching mouth with the cupcake.

Drawing a breath, he blew out the candle. Wisps of smoke rose to the ceiling and vanished. Loki pulled out the candle, dropping it on the counter where it would soon be forgotten. He held Jane's gaze as he took a bite of the cupcake. It was a bit too dry for his taste, but the flavor was acceptable. He offered her the other half. She chewed slowly, moaning like the wanton temptress he always knew she was.

A moment later, they were upstairs. Laying on their bed, Loki traced circles over Jane's bare stomach. She blinked and looked around, bits of cupcake stuck her face.

"Would you look at that," Loki gasped, a hungry smile poking through his shocked facade. "My wish _has_ come true!"

Jane gave him a flat look. "You know, you can't just-"

Except he very much could, as he definitively proved with his next, breath stealing kiss. This time, they wouldn't be stopping.


	29. WinterQuake for piercethelowtime 2

**Written for:** _piercethelowtime. July 17th, 2018 Bucky/Daisy first meeting soulmate AU._

Skye hadn't wanted to go to the park that day. She only agreed because it was Bailey's thirteenth birthday and Bailey was her best friend at the group home. Her party was a picnic on a windy hilltop. They would've had it in the gardens, which were Bailey's favorite, but some senator guy was doing a rally that day. Skye saw him enter the park with his entourage. He had gelled brown hair and he smiled like his mouth was permanently stuck that way. Skye was only twelve (or twelve and ten months thank you very much) but she knew already that she didn't like politicians. They were too phony and she'd dealt with enough phony people in her life.

She helped hold the blankets down with rocks and set the table. Her foster dad arrived five minutes late with a stack of pizza boxes. Skye grabbed a slice of sausage before someone else could take it all and sat with Bailey under a tree. They chatted about school and boys and what it was like to finally be a teenager.

"I'll be honest, I thought I'd feel different," Bailey said, "but I kind of don't."

"Maybe it takes a few days to settle in," said Skye.

"Yeah, maybe."

While their foster parents wrangled the younger kids (looked like Bobby had spit in Danny's food again) they watched a bird make a nest and the political guy give his speech. They were so far up, they couldn't hear what he was saying, but half the crowd loved it. The other half booed and he smiled even harder at them.

"After we eat, wanna go practice soccer?" Skye asked.

"Sure. I'll get the ball."

They let their foster parents know where they'd be and climbed down the hill to the empty soccer field just outside a huge forest. Skye liked the trees, but she was never allowed to go that far. Even though she was twelve years old (and ten months, thank you very much) she still got treated like a baby. She couldn't wait to turn thirteen.

Skye stood between the goalposts while Bailey kicked the ball over her head and under her arms. She was way too good at this game, but Skye always preferred kickball anyway. Ever since she was old enough to understand what the words on her stomach meant. She pulled her shirt over her pants as Bailey reared her foot back. She attempted a spinning kick, but her aim was way off and the ball flew through the trees.

"I got it," Bailey shouted, sprinting after it.

"We're not supposed to go in there!" Skye yelled back, but it was too late. Bailey was gone.

A few seconds later, someone snapped their fingers.

That was what it sounded like. A really loud snap followed by a chorus of screams. The political guy wasn't behind the podium. He was on his back, his face covered in red. He wasn't smiling anymore. His bodyguards surrounded him. They called for a full evacuation of the area. Bailey was still in the forest. Skye ran to the tree line and called her name, as loud as her lungs would allow. No one answered.

She entered the brush, rules be damned. Her foster parents would understand why she did it. No way would Skye ever leave her friend behind. She wandered through the trees, twigs snapping and leaves crushing under her sneakers.

"Bailey," she cried. "Where are you? We have to go!"

Through a pair of tall bushes, Skye caught sight of yellow hair and a bright green t-shirt. Her heart leapt. She tore into the clearing and nearly fell flat on her face. The ball was under her foot. Bailey wasn't even looking in her direction. Instead, she stared straight ahead at a man. A man dressed in all black, so dark Skye almost missed him. He wore a mask that covered his face below the forehead. His hair was long and unbrushed. There was something weird about his left arm, but it was far less important than the gun in his hand.

He walked straight, right at Bailey. Skye wanted to scream at her to run, but her voice was gone. Bailey either wouldn't move or couldn't. Probably the latter since she clearly saw the gun and knew she was one step away from an untimely death.

The world was on pause. All sounds gone. Skye had never thought of herself as heroic or religious, but she reared back her foot and kicked the ball with all her strength. As it sailed through the air, she prayed. _'Please let this work.'_

The ball hit the masked man square in the temple. It bounced off his skull and into the darkness, never to be seen again. He didn't fall down, not that Skye expected him to. It did knock his goggles off. They fell at his feet and he looked at her with dull blue eyes.

"Pick on someone your own size!" Skye shouted. It sounded tough, but she was at least a foot shorter than him and therefore nowhere near his size. In fact, her moment of bravery might've just gotten them both killed.

The man charged, not running but walking with purpose. He raised the gun, pointing the barrel at Skye's head. She prayed again, even harder this time. She'd never known what happened to her family, if they really didn't want her or if they were all long dead, but if she had anyone up there waiting for her, she just hoped they were nice.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable. It didn't come. The man grunted like he was in pain. When she looked he was hunched over, his free hand clamped down on his wrist. He pulled it slowly back, almost like half of him was trying to stop the other half from killing her.

"Nnngh-" he groaned. "Nn… no… I won't…"

He reached into his belt, pulling out a small circular object. It looked like a cherry bomb, but when he dropped it, a thick cloud of smoke surrounded her. Skye coughed and fell on her knees. Heavy footfalls moved quickly away from her and disappeared. By the time the smoke cleared, Bailey was on the ground, shaking and crying, but unharmed. The man was gone, not a trace of him left.

Skye told the police when they arrived, but despite saying they'd get back to her, they never did. The politician's assassination was never solved and eventually, Skye moved on with her life. But long after Bailey was adopted and moved across the country, after Skye turned eighteen and struck out on her own, and after starting her own tumultuous adventure into the world of espionage and superheroes, she never forgot that day in the park, or that man with eyes like the dead.

Not until Thanos was defeated and Daisy Johnson walked in on Steve Rogers and the newly resurrected Bucky Barnes. She stumbled as her brain registered their presence and nearly walked into a desk. "Sorry! Sorry. Thought this room was empty."

"It's okay," Steve said pleasantly. He nodded at Barnes. "Buck, this is Daisy Johnson. She and her team were a big help in… you okay?"

Barnes was either not okay or extremely okay. Daisy had no idea which, only that she'd never seen eyes quite that wide or quite that blue either. They were mesmerizing, and oddly familiar. Daisy found herself staring at him as he rose to his feet and walked to her. A twinge of fear leftover from childhood hit her, but faded quickly when he smiled.

"Nice to meet you," he said, taking her hand, "just promise you won't hit me with a kickball again."

Daisy's jaw dropped. Steve seemed to realize what was happening and quickly bowed out. A million and one thoughts ran through Daisy's head so fast, her brain needed to reboot itself several times before she finally got something out.

"It was a soccer ball…"

He chuckled, but his mirth died fast, replaced with apprehension. "I know I didn't leave a good impression on you the first time, but Wakanda is beautiful this time of year. Want to maybe go for a walk?"

This had to be the craziest way anyone had ever met their soulmate. The kind of thing that turned her off romance films because it was so unrealistic. Just another day for Daisy Johnson.

"I'd love to," she said, and she really meant it.


	30. CaptainWinterQuake for pomerqueen

**Written for:** _pomerqueen. July 20th, 2018 Bucky/Steve/Daisy "Are you jealous?"_

"Do you really need_ three_ of those?"

Steve dropped the bag of fresh green papayas into the shopping cart, careful not to squish the bread. He pretended the incessant whining in his ear was someone else's kid and not his fellow centenarian/boyfriend. "I'm making a salad."

"Better be enough for you and Daisy because I'm not eating that shit," Bucky said, sticking up his nose.

"What is wrong with you? Papayas are delicious."

"What's wrong with _you?_ They taste like soap."

"You don't know what you're talking about. Stupid jerk."

"Punk." Bucky finished weighing the kiwis and then moved on to the plums. "By the way, where's Daisy? Haven't seen her since we got here."

"I think she's over at the butcher getting steaks," said Steve, vaguely recalling her plans to do a stir fry later that night. "Let's finish up here and then we can go look for her."

When all the necessary produce had been selected, weighed, and bagged, Bucky wheeled the almost full cart ahead of Steve towards the back of the supermarket. They each grabbed a few things along the way, cookies and chips and whatever empty calories they could get away with keeping in the pantry. Daisy had a basket full of fresh meat when they found her by the seafood. She was chatting with a man not wearing an apron or a name tag, meaning he wasn't an employee. This wouldn't be a big deal, except Steve had never seen this man before. One look at Bucky told him he was equally stumped.

The man showed Daisy something in his wallet. She smiled and spoke kindly before he turned his cart towards the canned food aisle and they said goodbye. Daisy waved when she spotted them. "Hey, guys! I got the steak and I also grabbed some ribs. They were on sale. I was thinking we could get salmon? I haven't had fish in a while"

"Sounds great," said Steve. "Who were you talking to just now?"

"Just an old friend of mine," she said while checking the price for a pound of Atlantic salmon. "We were in the same orphanage for a while before he got adopted. I may have had a little crush on him."

"Is that so?" Bucky said, folding his arms. "Do we need to have a talk with him?"

"Knock it off, Buck," Steve said, though it was a weak attempt at being the mature one and they all knew it.

"Are you guys seriously jealous?" Daisy asked eyebrow raised.

"No!" They said in unison. Bucky glared at Steve, who glared back so hard his face hurt.

Maybe they were a_ tiny bit _jealous.

Daisy shook her head. "Men, I swear…"

Bucky snaked an arm around her waist. "We just love you so much, Doll. Don't want to lose you."

"You're not going to lose me. He was showing me pictures of his wife and their new baby," Daisy said. "And at the risk of feeding into your egos, you two have completely ruined me for all other men. No one will ever satisfy me like you do."

"Thank you, our egos are pleased," Bucky said, puffing out his chest. Steve would be lying if he said he didn't instinctively do the same. "What do you guys say when we're done, we get some pizza?"

"I could go for a meat lovers," said Steve.

"Okay, but you guys had better not eat all the mushroom pizza again before-" Daisy paused as she looked into their cart. The entire top layer was nothing but Oreos, Doritos, and ice cream sandwiches. She shot them a look. "Really?"

Bucky shrugged innocently. "We saved some space for your rocky road. Don't worry."

Daisy rolled her eyes, then turned to Steve with a sickly sweet smile. "How about a papaya stir fry for tomorrow?"

Steve grinned as Bucky turned green. "Sounds good to me."

"You guys suck…" Bucky muttered.

Steve and Daisy planted wet kisses on his cheeks and all was right with the world.


	31. BuckyGamora for valiantwhispersheart

**Written for:** _valiantwhispersheart. August 28th, 2018 Bucky/Gamora "Are you going to eye fuck me all night or do something about it?"_

Gamora was a virgin.

Or at the very least, she hadn't dated anyone in a while.

Bucky realized this in the middle of flirting with her, three pints of Asgardian grade booze granting him the courage to say exactly what was on his mind. "Are you going to eye fuck me all night or do something about it?"

This was why he should never say what was on his mind.

To her credit, Gamora didn't hand him his ass for that one. He wouldn't have blamed her if she did. He had a feeling no man had ever been so direct with her. Not even Quill.

"I… don't think that's possible?" She glanced around like she was searching for an exit. "I mean, I know there are a lot of different ways to have sex, but-"

"Hey Gamora," Peter Quill shouted, popping up out of nowhere with the rest of his ragtag bunch of misfits. "Come on, Gamora, you know that's not what he meant. Don't be so overly literal. That's Drax's job."

Drax blinked. "My job is Guardian of the Galaxy, Quill. Same as you."

"See what I mean?"

Gamora stirred her drink as Bucky wondered if slipping away now to sober up would hurt his chances with her later. They would only be on-planet for so long and after seventy lost years of pain, he wasn't about to waste a single opportunity.

As he was steeling his resolve to apologize for his poor choice of words, he forgot not to let Mantis touch him. "Oh my. This is a new emotion. It's like sexual love except mostly sex."

"Okay, I'm gonna go get some food." Bucky backed away as fast as he could. "Sorry if I bothered you, Gamora. I'll just…"

He pushed through the crowd, sighing with one part relief and one part immense frustration as the Guardians disappeared from sight. Somehow, he never found the right time to talk to Gamora. This was their second visit to Earth since Thanos's defeat, and he'd promised himself this time, he would do it. He'd tell her how he felt and, if he was lucky, he'd get that kiss he'd been dreaming about for months.

But it seemed 'this time' was destined to remain a 'would-a, could-a, should-a'. He resigned himself to the refreshments table, all alone watching happy couples dances. There were Tony and Pepper, Vision and Wanda, Scott and Hope. Damn. Must be nice to have that special someone.

He was reaching for another shrimp cocktail when a green hand appeared in his line of sight. Bucky froze.

"Sorry," Gamora said. "Had to get away from them. Can we talk somewhere private?"

"Yeah, absolutely!" Bucky said, coughing in a piss poor attempt to hide his enthusiasm.

They slipped out of the ballroom and into the elevator. This hotel was either in Tony's pocket or he owned it outright. Bucky didn't know. All three top floors had been reserved for party guests who wanted to get some sleep or 'get some sleep'. Bucky's room was right by the elevator, which saved him from the awkwardness of running up and down the hall trying to find it. Inside was a modern style apartment complete with a full kitchen and living room. The bed was enormous. Bigger than a king size. They'd have more than enough room to-

"So," Bucky cleared his throat. "You uh… wanted to talk?"

Gamora folded her arms. "Yeah. I was thinking we could… I don't know... "

"We could sit down," Bucky almost pointed at the bed. "Watch a movie or something?"

Her eyes widened, and for a moment, Bucky wondered if he'd accidentally offended her somehow. Then she took a deep breath and grabbed him by the shoulders.

She kissed like a goddess.

Even factoring in the seven decades since he held a woman, nobody had ever made Bucky feel like this. His body reacted accordingly, but though his arousal poked at her legs, she didn't let go. She didn't grind him either, though. They'd have to do something about that.

"Wha-" Bucky slurred as they came up for air.

"Was that okay?" She was rather unsubtly rubbing his biceps. "Quill said when two people watch a movie, it's so they can make out."

"Quill is absolutely right." Bucky kissed her again, dragging her to the bed.

Her clothes were ridiculously easy to remove, but though he would've loved to tear them to shreds with his teeth, he paced himself. He had to take it slow, drag it out, make her forget her own name as he sent her back to the stars. He reached into her pants, sighing with relief when what he found was anatomically compatible with him.

They kissed every exposed inch of each other's flesh within reach. She tasted amazing. He couldn't get enough of her.

But apparently, she'd had enough of him. Or so he thought when she suddenly went still and stared at the ceiling. "You've got to be kidding me."

Bucky, shirtless with his pants undone, had to roll off the bed as Gamora sprang up and punched the air vent open. Out came a flailing, armored raccoon who bounced off the bed onto the floor.

"The fuck was that for?" Rocket shouted.

"For spying on us," Gamora snapped. "What did you think you were doing up there?"

"Nothing! Quill said you were getting laid by Barnes and I thought he was full of it. Had to see it for myself."

Gamora pinched the bridge of her nose and pointed at the door. "Just get out."

"Fine fine. Like I want to watch you two animals anyway," Rocket grinned evilly at Bucky, "but before I go, I'm gonna need that arm."

Bucky grabbed Rocket by the throat, holding him at eye level. "Still need it?"

"No," Rocket gasped.

Bucky tossed him into the hall and locked the door. He returned to the bed and crawled on top of her. "Now, where were we?"

"Watching a movie," she said, and then her tongue was in his mouth.


	32. ShieldShock for suzieqsez

**Written for:** _suzieqsez. September 19th, 2018 Steve/Darcy Smut fic "Is there a mirror in your pocket? Because I look great- wait, I said that wrong."_

"Favorite genre of music?"

"That's a tough one. Um… I want to say rock, but I'm more knowledgeable in the seventies than modern-day stuff. Hendrix and Pink Floyd and all that. My parents are crazy about those guys."

"Never heard of them." The way Steve grinned, Darcy was pretty sure he had. She'd never know for sure, though, and that was probably the way he wanted it.

God, if he wasn't naked right now, she might be angry with him.

Darcy dragged her equally naked body closer, snuggling into his muscly chest. "Okay… who was your first crush?"

Steve groaned. "Pass."

"No, no passing. We had a deal, Rogers. No question goes unanswered and that includes the embarrassing ones."

He ran a hand down his face. There was a hint of stubble lining his jaw. Darcy wouldn't say a word about it. Steve was never not hot, but she liked the beard. It was perfect for oral.

"Okay well, I was in fourth grade and there was this girl, Edith Aberford. I got it in my head that she'd go out with me if I could take class bully in a fight. So one day, I caught him kicking sand at some of the younger kids and I punched him in the face."

"Bucky allowed this to happen?"

"His whole family had the flu that week. Anyway, he kicked my ass and then, to add insult to injury, Edith started dating _him."_

Darcy winced. "Ouch. Love hurts."

"Especially when you're nine." Steve shook his head. "My turn."

"Hit me, big boy."

He gave her ass a pinch, making her jolt and grind against him. It reminded her just how big he really was.

"What was the worst pick up line anyone tried to use on you?"

The first time they met, Steve hadn't used a line. He'd just stammered for five minutes until Bucky got fed up and asked Darcy out for him. As their relationship progressed and Steve grew more comfortable with their budding romance, it was hard to believe he'd once been the inhibited one.

He was already dragging his teeth down her neck as she tried to articulate an answer.

"So in college, I was…" she moaned as Steve nipped her earlobe. "Stop that. Let me talk. I was in college and there was this guy in my Advanced Political Theory class. I had a huge thing for him."

"What'd he look like?"

It took Darcy time to answer, not just because he was pinching her nipples and getting them hard but also because she genuinely couldn't remember the guy's face. How weird. It hadn't been that long ago, had it?

"Uh… I think he was blond? No, light brown. Definitely light brown. He was tall and he had brown eyes. Kind of a big nose, but it worked for him."

"What's his full name?"

"You are not going to go beat him up, Steve."

"Never said that."

"You were thinking it."

"I'm thinking only one thing right now." He bent his head to take her nipple in his mouth. "Hurry up and finish."

"Oh god," Darcy whimpered. He kept that up, and she'd be getting off sooner rather than later. "So with the guy… he was…. I was at the bar and I saw him, and my friends dared me to talk to him. I was a little drunk and I thought I'd say something witty. Then I go up to him and I'm just like 'is that a mirror in your pocket because I look great!' which made perfect sense in my head, but he and his buddies all laughed at me. I think then they left. Or maybe I left. Point is, I never got a date."

"What a shame." Steve released her breast only to roll on top of her, his thick erection pressing at her entrance.

"So yeah, that's the worst pick up line I ever did," Darcy said, eyes fluttering closed. "Wait, that's not what you asked. Is that what you asked?"

"I don't care." Steve pushed inside fast and hard, and suddenly, Darcy didn't care either.


	33. ShieldShock for mcgregorswench

**Written for:** _mcgregorswench. September 25th, 2018 Steve/Darcy Post-snap reunion._

Steve hadn't spoken to Darcy since the resurrection (he hated calling it that so much). That wasn't for a lack of opportunities. For sure, there had been plenty.

She'd come with Bucky to visit him in the hospital, standing back as the two old friends had their own tearful reunion. Later, he saw her with Jane, pressing her old boss turned BFF for all the details of what had happened while she was gone. Then at Tony's 'ding dong the titan is dead' party, they sat two chairs apart trying not to stare at their respective best friends eating each other's faces off.

That last one was his opening, an exasperated Bucky snapped at him three days later (he'd just gotten back from Jane's apartment).

"Didn't you tell me you've been sweet on her ever since she and Jane let you guys stay with them that one time?"

"Yeah, sorry if I'm not big on public displays of affection like you," Steve said. "I'm pretty sure I lost my virginity watching you animals."

"About damn time. I was starting to wonder if you'd entered into priesthood without telling me."

"Shut the fuck up. Go fuck Jane some more why don't you?"

Bucky did indeed do that, and so Steve was all alone when Darcy arrived at his door in a pair of shorts and a tight red t-shirt.

"Sorry," she said sheepishly, holding up a bag of popcorn and some cookies as a peace offering. "Hot as those guys are together, I'm not in the mood to listen to orgasms right now. You mind if I crash here?"

_'Legs,'_ Steve's brain said as it traveled out of his skull and into his pants. _'Soft legs and hips and breasts dear god those breasts…'_

"Uh…" Steve's jaw unhinged, letting out a squeaky hiss. "I mean… yes?"

She cocked her head to one side. "You don't sound very sure of yourself."

"I am. Really, I am. I just…" Steve looked around. There were a few articles of clothing on the floor and a messy stack of magazines on the coffee table. "Sorry, it's such a mess."

Darcy snorted, flouncing past him. He was pretty sure she wasn't wearing a bra. "If this is a mess, then my room is an archaeological dig in the making. You guys have Netflix, right?"

Steve didn't know. His ever-expanding list aside, he wasn't much of a TV person. It seemed Bucky was, though, as the red logo soon popped up on the TV screen. Darcy spent the next twenty minutes searching through hundreds of titles before settling on a baking show. She'd made a small area for herself out of blankets and pillows, seeming to prefer that to the couch. Steve could relate, it was far too soft for his liking, but something about Darcy all stretched out on the floor, her legs bent, her shirt riding up to expose her stomach…

Steve swallowed. "So uh… Bucky and Jane. Didn't see that coming."

Darcy shrugged. "Eh, it kind of makes sense. At least to me."

"How's that?"

"Well, you know she dated Thor, right?"

Steve nodded.

"Before that, she was really serious about this guy, Donald Blake. I think he was a surgeon or something? Anyway, they broke up long before my internship started, but I did meet him once. We ran into him at some big charity event gala thing. He was actually a pretty cool guy."

"That's nice," Steve said. He wanted to look at her face, but her nipples were hard peaks. Definitely no bra.

"I mean, he was no Thor obviously, but I could see why Jane liked him. Then I got to thinking, she went from a successful doctor to a literal god slash superhero. Where are you supposed to go from there? How do you find someone just as good if not better than Thor?"

"And you think Bucky is that someone."

"You think he's not?"

Fair enough.

They went back to watching the show, but Steve couldn't concentrate for longer than a minute. He was off the couch and next to Darcy, trying not to stare but inevitably letting his eyes drag across her curvaceous form.

"So uh…" he coughed. "How did Buck win her over? He never told me."

"He didn't?" Darcy rolled her eyes. "And here I thought he'd brag about it to everyone. He literally listened to her talk science for three hours, and when she was done, he started making out with her."

Steve blinked. "Are you serious?"

"As a tax audit," she said. "I don't know, I guess he has a kink. No judgment from me, of course. I wish it could always be that easy to land a man."

She looked at him, and Steve looked back. Nothing in her voice or expression suggested she was after anything, but when Steve grabbed her, those perfect legs were around his waist as soon as he sat up. She fit perfectly in his lap, grinding hard against him. The rest happened in a blur, one which lasted until the sun came up. They were still on the floor, they were naked, and Steve had proven himself a fast learner as he figured out every possible way to make Darcy scream his name. The baking show was still on in the background.

"That was…" Darcy tried to form another word but quickly gave up.

"I know," Steve said. "What do you say next time, we make out in front of Bucky and Jane? Give them a taste of their own medicine."

She grinned, pulling him in for another kiss. "You're on."


	34. SamDarcy for deprough

**Written for:** _deprough. October 18th, 2018 Sam/Darcy Plot fic with Darcy framed by HYDRA._

Darcy Lewis was not a superhero. She was not a government agent. She was not a politician.

If she was anything, it was normal. Her parents were both accountants. Their claim to fame was doing the mayor's taxes every year. She coasted through high school and college with Bs and Cs helped in no small part by her impulsive decision to take a summer internship in New Mexico that had nothing whatsoever to do with her major. Her days involved keeping house at Jane's lab and making sure all her emails were answered in a timely manner. On any given night, she could be found on the couch, partially dressed and browsing Netflix.

The simple truth of the matter was this: you didn't get much more ordinary than Darcy Lewis. And that was fine by her. Superhero nonsense inundated her daily life, and as cool as it was to be mildly acquainted with Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, Darcy preferred a tub of chocolate ice cream and the new season of Stranger Things to saving the world.

So _how__,_ she wondered while running down some random street in some random European country she didn't know the name of while an international news report plastered her face on every television screen with the words DANGEROUS FUGITIVE underneath, had she become a wanted terrorist?

* * *

The streets were crawling with cops. Amazing how fast law enforcement here worked when national security was on the line. Maybe they should send some of their guys stateside.

Darcy peeked through the double doors of the abandoned building she'd taken refuge in. The place was damp and full of rat droppings, but it was better than taking her chances out there. Most of the cops had their weapons drawn. The chief was speaking rapidly in French, and while it'd been years since her high school language classes, Darcy picked up a few keywords like 'dangerous' and 'kill'. Whatever was in those bullshit reports must've been pretty bad.

"Lord, what did I do?" She sunk to her knees, fighting back tears of anguish. "What did I do to deserve this? Is it because I ate bacon that one time? I know it wasn't kosher, I just wanted to know what it tasted like. I'm sorry!"

Stomping footsteps came from outside and Darcy held her breath. She ran a finger over the taser in her pocket. It was almost out of juice, but if she was lucky, she might get one last good hit out of it. She stood up on jelly legs as the door creaked open.

The next few seconds went like this:

Darcy's taser sputtered and died.

A smoke bomb went off next to the police officers, sending them running.

Cold fingers wrapped around her mouth as she was pulled against a hard body and dragged kicking and screaming into the alley.

A van pulled up and her attacker to threw her in the back.

The next few hours went like this:

Darkness.

* * *

Darcy awoke to tires rolling over a gravelly road, knocking her head against the metal floor. She groaned in agony as memories of the last few days came crashing down. The car was slowing, but with no windows and no way to mark the time, they could be in Australia for all she knew.

_'I should've charged my phone before I became a wanted criminal.'_

She kept her useless iPhone close at hand as the car came to a full stop. The front door opened and closed. Her captor walked to the side door which was then unlocked. Darcy crouched down with her lousy excuse for a weapon at the ready. If she had to die, she was going out swinging.

The door opened. A hulking shadow of a man appeared. He stepped into the light and Darcy… slumped over. Her head was suddenly killing her. "What the everloving _fuck,_ dude?"

Bucky Barnes smirked, offering her a hand like he could make the switch from kidnapper to gentlemen and she'd just accept it without question. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." He led her through a doorway and down several flights of stairs into the basement. "The cops were on my tail and I had to get you out of there ASAP."

"How'd you even know where to find me?"

"We've been tracking you ever since the warrant went out for your arrest. Here's a tip. Next time you want to hide your identity, don't use your mother's maiden name as an alias."

"Well, excuse me if I skipped that day in 'Fugitive 101'," Darcy snapped. "And who the hell is _we?_ You got a boss now?"

"You could say that," said a disembodied voice which was subsequently embodied when Jane appeared at Bucky's side. "I keep him clean and well dressed, so I guess that makes me the boss."

"You don't do either of those things," Bucky said, wrapping an arm around her, "you just have a shower and a washing machine. And if you're the boss how come you're always calling me 'sir' when we-"

"JANIE!" Darcy threw herself at her friend. She would've knocked her off her feet were it not for the solid brick wall that was Bucky's torso. "Oh god, Jane. I thought I'd never see you again! I thought you wouldn't believe me!"

"Darcy, it's been four days since we last saw each other." Jane tried to push her off, but Darcy had her in a vice grip. "And of course I believe you. You're afraid to kill a spider, much less a foreign dignitary."

"It's true! I'm a total wimp!" Darcy cried into Jane's shirt, soaking it through with tears. "I've missed you guys so much. I never realized just how much I appreciate you and-"

"That's all very sweet of you," said Jane, patting Darcy awkwardly on the back, "but maybe we should do this later? Like after we've come up with a plan for clearing your name?"

"Can't we just change our identities and move to Mexico?"

"I'm afraid not."

"Dammit, I like Mexico." Darcy released Jane and sat on a desk. "Okay, what's the plan? Because aside from Mexico, I got nothing."

"You know it's not too late to turn her in," Bucky whispered to Jane.

"I can hear you!"

Bucky smiled innocently and Darcy wondered if punching him out would be worth the broken bones. "Luckily, we already have everything figured out. All you need to do is stay here and let us take care of it."

"Are you implying that I should curl up in the corner like a damsel in distress and let the big strong heroes save me?"

"Pretty much."

"Okay, that sounds good," Darcy said, all bravado gone in an instant. "I am in way over my head and I cannot deal with this. Yesterday I went to the bathroom twelve times because I'm so scared."

"Twelve times?" This was a new voice Darcy had never heard before. It came from a man she'd never seen before, who appeared from behind a gap in the wall and flashed his blindingly perfect smile in her face like it wasn't an actual lethal weapon. Which it was. "Damn. Now I know you're not a terrorist."

"Darcy, this is Sam Wilson," Jane said, "you might know him as Falcon."

"I do." She maybe had a poster of him on her door and she possibly had a dream once where they were in bed and his tongue was doing wonderful things to her breasts.

"So you're the great Darcy Lewis." Sam shook her hand and she almost forgot to let go. "Nice to finally meet you."

"I'm not great," Darcy said instead of 'you too' or 'thank you for helping to clear my name' or anything else a normal, not terrified person would say.

Sam chuckled. "I've heard different."

"Sam's gonna watching your back for a while," Bucky said. "He was the best we could do on such short notice. Sorry about that."

Sam shot Bucky a look. "You know, I think a lot sometimes about how much better Jane could do."

"Okay!" Jane got in between them before Bucky could punch Sam's lights out. "Everyone relax. We're moving out of here soon so we'll all need our strength."

Jane was right in many ways, most of which she wouldn't know until one and a half seconds later when an explosion took out the far wall. The attack killed the power, but flashes of gunfire gave Darcy enough light to see Bucky shove Jane behind a metal table and then use the nearest armored officer as a flail to knock three more guys to the ground. While he systematically decimated his half of the attack squad, Sam grabbed Darcy and took to the air. He flew far above his half, raining down fire like a mechanical death angel. Darcy had no idea how many were left by the time they soared out the window.

"What about Jane and Bucky?" she shouted over the wind and through a mouthful of hair.

"Don't worry. They know where to meet us."

He kept low enough that she could breathe and not die of hypothermia. Flying without an aircraft was so much less cool than it looked in the movies. If Darcy made it through this, she'd be writing a strongly worded letter to Hollywood about their irresponsible depiction of flight travel. Speaking of which, a helicopter was now on their tail. They weren't shooting yet, but those mounted guns were like a bunch of evil faces glaring at Darcy. All they wanted was a chance to tear her apart.

"Reach into my belt," Sam ordered. "Now!"

Darcy grabbed the smooth metal instrument attached to his side. Her fingers fell into appropriately shaped grooves as she pulled it over his shoulder. Her eyes bugged out. It was a gun. She screamed and dropped it. Down, down, down it went into the ocean.

"I'm sorry," she cried. "I freaked out."

"It's okay, it's okay," Sam said. He held her tighter and made a sharp turn left. "I should've warned you. Grab the other one and hold on to it. You know how to use one, right?"

She'd taken a couple of classes on her parents' insistence. They didn't want her living in New York, much less with superheroes, without some way of defending herself. Her aim left much to be desired, but if she had to, she could probably point and pull the trigger. Assuming she wasn't two hundred feet in the air with machine guns after her.

Said guns went off as they left city limits. Darcy screamed and buried her head in Sam's chest. Bullets tapped off his wings and armor. They were newly reinforced with vibranium, or so she'd heard. Vibranium or no, they were tough. Sam barely seemed conscious of the threat to their lives as he fell into a zigzag pattern. The helicopter stopped shooting, allowing Darcy to reach around for the second gun. It was heavier than the first and her palms were soaked, but she had a good enough hold to react instinctively when the helicopter started gaining on them.

She fired once and hit the window, cracking it. The recoil almost knocked her out of Sam's grip. Her ears rang and her arms felt like fire. The helicopter's course faltered, allowing them to fly towards a nearby cliffside undeterred. Darcy kept her eyes closed from there. She didn't hear any bullets, but the whirring blades continued for a long time and never seemed to get any softer.

Not until she caught the scent of saltwater did she dare to look. They were over the shore and about to land on top of a small mountain. Sam lowered her gently to the ground. It was warmer down here, but once she was finished kissing the sand and then spitting it back out, she felt a chill and pulled her jacket tighter around her.

"Solid land," she moaned. "I'll never leave you again."

Sam pulled off his goggles and chuckled. "Sorry, that was such a bumpy ride. We're safe here for now."

"For now," Darcy repeated. "That is fast becoming my least favorite phrase of all time."

"I don't blame you," he said.

He guided her to a rock big enough for sitting. Darcy leaned her head on his shoulder before realizing what she was doing. Following the requisite seizing stab of embarrassment, she decided she didn't give a crap and hugged him.

"You were good back there," he said.

"No, I wasn't," she said. "I'm a mess. I shouldn't even be in this situation. I'm not a hero, I'm just a coffee girl. What makes me so special?"

She whimpered like a sad kitten drenched in rainwater. This was the worst day of her life. She was a wanted woman, she'd been shot at a million times, and God, her parents must be so pissed right now. She'd never hear the end of it.

"Give yourself more credit," Sam said. "You're in a tight spot, but you're still moving. Still trying to clear your name. A lot of people would've cracked by now."

"I'm on the edge, believe you me."

"But you're not over it."

He had this weird way of making everything he said, no matter how unbelievable, seem perfectly logical. Darcy didn't know if this was the therapist in him or just her brain's desperate need for a human connection taking his words to mean more than he intended, but goddamn, did she want to kiss him right now. "When this is over, you want to go out sometime?"

Sam brow shot up. "Really?"

Darcy flinched. "Was that a 'holy crap I'd love to' kind of really or 'holy crap I can't believe you'd even ask?'"

"More like a 'this is not the best time,'" he said, smiling, "but yeah, I'd like that."

His phone beeped. On his call ID was a photo of Bucky asleep with a shaving cream Santa Claus beard on his face. "Looks like our ride is on the way," Sam said, squeezing her shoulder. "Let's get your name cleared and then we can get pizza."

"And watch Stranger Things?" Darcy asked hopefully.

"Works for me."


	35. Pepperony for generalantiope

**Written for:** _generalantiope. October 28th, 2018 Pepperony Rescue!Pepper fic_

Pepper felt Tony's forehead, wondering if he'd stuck himself with a hot poker when she wasn't looking. She slid the thermometer between his unwilling lips. It beeped after thirty seconds. By some miracle, Tony had managed not to utter a word the whole time.

"Over a hundred," Pepper said, shaking her head. "Sorry, Tony, you're out sick today."

"But I can't be sick," Tony moaned. "The world needs me."

"The world will be fine without you for a few days. You need to rest."

"But-" a series of sneezes interrupted him. Pepper held out a box of tissues and he went through almost half of it before it stopped. "I feel light and heavy at the same time. Does that make sense?"

"I guess it'll have to." Pepper fluffed his pillows and kissed the top of his head. Tony was never good about being sick. People thought he was an overgrown child when he was healthy. They had no idea. "Promise me you'll stay in bed, and when you're well again, we'll go wherever you want on vacation and I'll do that thing with the cherry sauce you like so much."

He sat up straight, his face instantly brighter. "Will you wear the maid costume, too?"

"We'll see."

"Come on, Pep. I did the pirate thing for you that one time."

Pepper drew the covers over his chin. "Talk later. Sleep now."

The intercom beeped and they were no longer alone. Not that they ever really could be with a sapient AI running the house.

"Sorry to bother you guys," said FRIDAY, "but Captain Rogers just called. There's an emergency and Mr. Stark is needed."

Tony sneezed five more times as he failed to drag himself out of bed. Pepper took him by the shoulders and gently pressed him into the mattress. Normally, this would be followed by Pepper herself getting in bed and neither of them getting out until the sun came up. For once even Tony seemed to realize that wasn't an option.

"It's okay," Pepper said firmly. "I can handle it."

"I know." His eyes were almost shut, but like everything else in his life, he powered through it. "You're still in training, though. If these are aliens we're dealing with, you might want to hang back."

"It's actually a terrorist cell," said FRIDAY. "About ten or fifteen guys. They have some pretty impressive weapons, though."

"Oh, okay. That's not so bad." Tony blew her a kiss. Pepper smiled and rubbed it in. "Go kick some ass, baby. Give 'em an extra hard punch in the face for me."

"You got it, boss."

As she left Tony to sleep, her armor formed around her. Nanotech was a thing of wonders, and since Tony was currently in a friendly 'whose tech is more badass' competition with Shuri, the newest model functioned like a second skin. Blue and gold wrapped around Pepper's hands and crept up her arms. A mask covered her face as FRIDAY's voice appeared in her ear. "Coordinates indicate they're somewhere on the East Coast. ETA twenty minutes, give or take."

"Works for me," said Pepper. She took off and soared across the ocean. "As long as we're done by sunset. I have one difficult patient to take care of."


	36. Tony & Peter for mayasha-chan

**Written for:** _mayasha-chan. November 17th, 2018 Tony & Peter father-son bonding fic.  
_

Tony knew something was bugging Peter. A big something. Something that would get his head knocked off if he fought a real battle the way he was training.

At first, he wasn't going to ask. Heart-to-hearts weren't really his strong suit. He dealt with his problems by telling bad jokes, building more suits, or drinking. Granted, that last one wasn't the healthiest coping mechanism and one could make the case that holing up in his lab for two months perfecting nanotech was also questionable.

(Which they'd be wrong about because his nanotech was awesome, but that was beside the point.)

It got really bad after lunch. Tony brought out an upgraded drone made with a web dissolving alloy. This should've been a perfect opportunity for Peter to hone his hand-to-hand skills. Instead, he was backed into a corner, shooting webs futilely like he wasn't literally the third strongest member of the team.

"Okay, cut! Pack it in, guys. We're taking ten."

At Tony's command, FRIDAY sounded the alarm and the drone went offline. Peter kept his head tucked under his arm, shivering. Tony thought the kid might be crying until he lifted his head and his eyes were thankfully dry.

"So," Tony said, assuming a more casual 'we're just two buds having a chat over beer except not because you're underage' stance. It would've been easier without the armor. "You wanna tell me what's up?"

Peter coughed. "Nothing's up. Just having an off day."

"Yeah, off days aren't really a thing when you're out hero-ing." Tony helped him to his feet. "Not unless you want to get your ass kicked six ways to Sunday. So let's try that again. What's eating you?"

"Nothing," he said, which was totally more convincing the second time around. "I just…"

"Just what?" Tony led him out of the ring into the washroom. They were on their own today as the rest of the team was off doing their own thing. Gave them plenty of time to hopefully not have an emotional heart-to-heart he wasn't prepared for.

"Today is…" Peter drew a shaky breath. "My uncle, he… died today. It's the anniversary, and I guess I just… I don't know."

"You miss him?"

"Well, yeah. All the time," said Peter. "I mean, not _ all the time _ all the time, but-"

"No, no, I get it." Tony patted his shoulder. "What was he, your inspiration? The one who put you on the path to stardom?"

"I'm not a star."

"It's 2018, kid. YouTube counts." Tony gave him another clap on the arm, which in hindsight, probably would've been better if he took the suit off first. "So uh… how long's it been? A year?"

"Two." Peter sighed. "It happened around when the spider thing happened."

"He knew about that?"

"Are you kidding? No way. He would've freaked worse than May, and she really freaked when she found out."

"Yes, I do recall." One day he got a random call to Peter's house and May Parker punched him the second he walked in the door. Then Peter was grounded for two months and Tony never found out exactly how that whole situation ended, but Peter was back on patrol once he'd served out his punishment and May regularly called in to ask about her nephew's progress.

Come to think about it, she'd been pretty somber that day when Tony picked Peter up. Here he thought she was just mad that Pete got an A- on his last history test. God, he really sucked sometimes.

"Ben was kind of… you know that thing dads do when they sit you down and give you that whole speech like 'you're becoming a man now and men have responsibilities.'"

"Sure do," Tony said, even though Howard Stark's version of that speech was giving him a room full of scrap metal, letting him go crazy, and then sending him to boarding school.

"He used to talk about that a lot. He always thought I'd be a doctor or a scientist and I'd help a lot of people. He really believed in me, and sometimes, I wonder if I can live up to all that."

"You're doing a good job so far," Tony said. "You're what now, fifteen?"

"Sixteen."

"You know what I was doing at sixteen?"

"Building robots at MIT?"

Tony paused. "Well yeah, but… I mean, look at you! You've helped save the world a bunch of times and you can't even drive yet. I was out getting drunk when I was your age. Your uncle probably was, too."

"He didn't drink."

"He didn't save the world either." Tony smiled at Peter the way he always wished Howard would smile at him. "I'm not much of a believer in white puffy cloud heaven, but if it's real, I bet he's looking down on you right now and he's really proud. I'm really proud of you, too."

Peter's face brightened, sending a wave of relief though Tony. For a minute there, he really thought they were on the verge of waterworks. "Thanks, Mr. Stark. That means a lot."

"I know." Tony stretched as his armor receded, leaving him in his plainclothes. "Okay, I think that was suitably heartwarming. How about we skip training and go get a burger?"

"I can keep going." Peter fumbled with his mask until Tony snatched it out of his hands.

"Hey there Mr. Super Reflexes, why didn't you stop me?" Tony waved the mask in Peter's face. "You need a break. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow. For now, burgers."

He walked Peter out of the training room, the two of them debating which burger joint they should hit up. It was nice just talking to someone without the fate of the universe hanging in the balance. Tony might have to amend his opinion on cheesy heart-to-hearts.


	37. Bucky & Daisy for agentdaisymaximoff

**Written for:** _agentdaisymaximoff. December 2nd, 2018 Bucky & Daisy spending the night in a haunted building.  
_

"So what's the story with this place?"

They were halfway up the stairs to the second floor of the abandoned Victorian style home. Bucky tore massive cobwebs out of their way with a baseball bat. Fortunately, no spiders had dropped on them yet and there weren't any ghosts running around either.

"It's pretty standard," he said. "Family moves in, kid dies, weird noises in the night, suddenly the mom starts claiming the kid's ghost is in the house. She goes insane. They sell the place. No one ever stays longer than a year. That's the rumor anyway."

"Not bad," Daisy said with an exaggerated shudder. "Our own personal Amityville horror."

"Except less murdery," said Bucky.

They reached the top step and it creaked. Downstairs, scampering feet made Bucky's heart stop for a fraction of a second. Then a rat zipped by, bits of garbage clamped in its mouth. Bucky stretched to mask his sigh of relief.

"Smells like old feet in here," Daisy muttered, brushing decades worth of dust off the banister.

"It's over a hundred years old. Were you expecting pine scent?"

"I don't know, but if I get asbestos poisoning, I swear to God, I'm telling everyone at school that you still sleep with a teddy bear."

"One, I told you that in confidence. Two, you have no proof."

"That's what _you_ think."

They moved on, checking the bedrooms and bathrooms for interesting sights. This house was a maze of doors and hallways. Bucky was no expert on architecture but he had a feeling urban explorer types would love this place. Hell, Bucky used to dream of hunting ghosts in here back when he still believed in them.

"See any disembodied heads yet?" He kicked aside a rotting piece of wood. "Any rattling chains or bleeding walls?"

"Shut up," said Daisy, hugging herself for warmth. "This house is way too cold."

"That means the ghosts are coming for you." Bucky suddenly gripped her shoulders, making her jump. She swatted at him as he laughed and stomped ahead.

"You _ really _ want the world to know about Sergeant Fuzzy, don't you?"

They found a mostly empty room with the guts of a bed against the wall and a broken vanity by the window. The floors were sturdier in here and the cold November air didn't reach them. Their flashlights kept them from total darkness as they sat on some old chairs and took a break.

"So," Daisy said after a few seconds of silence, "how long do we have to stay in here again?"

Bucky shrugged. "Long enough to prove it's safe I guess. Why? Worried about the ghosts?"

"There's no such thing as ghosts," Daisy snapped, clearly still peeved about his little joke. "If anyone's haunting this place it's your stupid ass."

"Hey now, I'll have you know, my ass is the farthest thing from stupid," Bucky smirked. "In fact, nine out of ten women agree: my ass is top notch."

"Yeah, and what about the tenth one?"

"That's you."

Daisy rolled her eyes and turned away from him. Their flashlights blinked and they took that as their cue to get moving. The rest of the house was as musty and derilict as one would expect. They reached the storeroom and inspected a few jam jars, black and foul smelling.

"You want to get out of here?" Bucky asked, shining his flashlight on Daisy. "We're not going to find anything and I'm beat."

"Aw, poor baby." Daisy fake pouted. "You must've missed your afternoon nap."

"Yeah, your mom kept me up late. Let's go."

They walked to the storeroom door. It had shut behind them when they went in, but they hadn't thought much of it. Stepping across the threshold, the kitchen was darker than Bucky remembered. His rubbed his eyes and looked around. The ancient gas stove and broken cabinets were gone. In their place were rows of shelves full of cracked jam jars-

"What the…" Bucky turned and the door they had just walked through was gone. Before them was a new door. The same door. Bucky and Daisy shared a glance. They seemed to dare each other to be the first to go through.

"You have the bat," Daisy said. In her eyes was dawning fear the likes of which he'd never seen in her before.

Taking a deep breath, Bucky stepped forward, keeping his eyes open despite an overwhelming need to close them. All it meant was they got to adjust again on the same stone walls and cobwebs.

"Okay," Bucky said, his fingers tightening over the flashlight as Daisy gulped. "Maybe something is going on here…"


	38. ThorDaisy for tracymelinda29

**Written for:** _tracymelinda29. December 16th, 2018 Thor/Daisy "And how are you going to make it up to me?"  
_

They were in what Darcy and Jane called a convenience store. Meant to provide quick sustenance and simple services to the denizens of this dust coated village, Thor couldn't say the box-shaped structure lived up to its name. Nothing here could help him find his way home. What good was that box of double stuffed Oreo's Darcy was brandishing in Jane's face when he was without his hammer? The very essence of his being?

"Come on, Jane, it's good for you!"

"It's junk, Darcy. That is the opposite of good for you."

"You'll drive into a tornado to take pictures of it but you won't buy one box of cookies. Incredible."

"If you want it so bad, pay for it with your own money. Otherwise, put it back."

Thor wandered into the next aisle. It was harder to hear them that way. He appreciated them both for taking him in during his time of need. Jane was a lovely woman and Darcy had her own charm about her, but their bickering hurt his ears. The pain only made his mood worse. He felt naked and vulnerable, like a newborn babe.

His reflexes were dulled as well. Otherwise, he could have easily avoided the slender, dark-haired woman barreling around the corner with an arm full of colorful bags. She slammed into his chest and staggered back, dropping her items to the floor. One landed under her foot and popped open. Bits of yellowish crumbs ('chips' he believed?) were scattered across the floor.

"Pardon me," he said, reaching to help the woman steady herself.

"I'm fine," she said, eyes down as she gathered her things. "There are worse things in life than crushed Ruffles."

Thor blinked. Her words left him with several important questions, but before he had a chance to speak, the woman was gone. She'd paid for her purchases and sped out the door by the time Jane and Darcy reached a compromise to buy one of the smaller Oreo's packages.

Back at Jane's lab, Thor listened to her explain her theories as best as he could. His mind constantly returned to the convenience store. To that strange woman and her strange words that meant more to him than they ever should have.

"Ruffles…" he muttered, right in the middle of Jane's big summation.

"So in terms of quantum dynamics, I… what? Did you say something?"

"Did I?" Thor asked. Jane gave him a look not dissimilar to Loki's whenever Thor came up with a plan he assumed would fail. Said plans only _occasionally_ didn't work, for the record. Loki was just being sour. "Forgive me, I am a bit distracted. I had an odd encounter today at the convenience store. One I find I can't stop thinking about."

"Odd encounter with who?"

"I cannot say. I wasn't able to learn her name before she left. I know this will sound very strange, but she said something to me which resembles a birthmark I've had since my coming of age."

Thor turned around and raised his shirt. The line of text-like marks stretched across his lower back. It had been there for so long, he barely registered it as a part of himself anymore. He thought about it no more than he did his fingers or his toes. The words had taken ages to properly translate, and ever since then, they'd meant nothing to him. Just a singular oddity of life.

Or so he thought until Jane's eyes bugged out. "Was that the first thing she said to you?"

"It was the only thing she said," Thor replied, smoothing out the shirt. "Is that significant?"

"Significant- Thor, that's a _soulmark._ That woman was your soulmate!"

Like water to a flame, his fears of contracting some rare Midgardian disease were doused. He laughed until his stomach hurt, only vaguely aware that laughing at his dear new friend and host was the kind of behavior his mother would have scolded him for.

"Soulmates, really," he gasped. "An excellent joke. Everyone knows soulmates don't exist."

"Yes they do," Jane countered. "It's been scientifically proven. Soulmates are real and over thirty percent of the population has one."

"Even if that were true, I couldn't have a Midgardian mark." The very idea was foolish at best. "In fact, my brother has a birthmark of the same variety, and he-"

"He has a soulmate, and so do you." Jane declared. "I have one, too, see?"

She pulled back her sleeve, showing off a short line of greenish-black text etched into her skin. Thor read the sentence several times, his heart dropping into his stomach. First came the realization that he knew this handwriting. He saw it every day in Loki's private notes. Next came the sickly claw of dread reaching deep into his rib cage.

If Jane's mark was real, his had to be real as well. That meant he met the woman fate had chosen for him and let her walk out of his life a complete stranger. Too wrapped up in his own arrogant whimpering to notice her.

He knew exactly why he'd been banished now.

"Yes, I do see." He touched Jane's shoulder. "Thank you, my… sister. Thank you for informing me…"

* * *

Much as he wanted to find the nearest horse and race after his mystery woman, there were more pressing matters at hand. First, he had to stop Loki from destroying the village in a jealous rage and potentially killing his own soulmate.

Then he needed to oversee reconstruction on the bifrost while mourning Loki's death.

Then he needed to rehabilitate the very much alive Loki following his brush with villainy.

Years passed like weeks. Introducing Jane and Loki had gone… decently well. ('You! I ought to smack you in the teeth, you asshole!' 'You're very loud. And tiny.' 'I… wait, what did you just say?' 'I could ask you the same thing.') They had worked out their issues and found true love in each other. Even with the destruction of Asgard and the universe's brush with extinction in the form of Thanos, the broken remains of Thor's family held strong together.

The final battle ended in victory for the Avengers and their allies. Thanos died broken and beaten, mourned by no one. A fitting end for a monster if there ever was one. Thor almost pitied him.

When it was over, and the newly revived Asgardians refugees had made it safely to earth, Thor found himself taking long walks alone more often than not. He loved the peace of New Asgard, situated on a picturesque island in the Mediterranean. Almost as nice were the forests of Upstate New York, where the new Avengers Headquarters was located. He broke away from the group after their meeting with a very much alive Phil Coulson and his team. Dinner would be served in an hour, but until then, he needed some time to himself to think about his life.

Things were going well and he had few complaints. Loki was himself again. His and Jane's first child, a girl, was due in a few months. Thor couldn't wait to be an uncle and shower the little princess with love and gifts. Meanwhile, his new friend, Brunhilde, had found her happiness in reuniting with her people and her budding romance with Dr. Banner. Stark had married his own lady several weeks ago. It seemed everyone was at peace in the wake of Thanos's defeat.

But much as Thor wished he could breathe easy like his friends, he had never forgotten his long lost soulmate. He'd been a fool not to even get her name. Even if he hadn't known at the time that soulmarks were real, he should have reacted faster. Perhaps offered to help her carry her things or least tried to apologize again. Now he would likely never see her again.

Someone was following him. Or not, as he listened more closely to the fast tapping keys of a smartphone. Out of the bushes came a young woman with her face consumed by the screen. She stepped over a fallen log and made to pass Thor.

"Sorry," she said. She looked like one of Agent Coulson's team members. He had only seen her once from afar when their group arrived. It had been only Coulson in the meeting. He hadn't had a chance to introduce himself to the others yet.

"Excuse me," he said, approaching the woman. "Are you-"

She looked up. Her eyes, her hair, her face, everything. He knew it all in an instant. Last time, he'd had precious seconds to take in her features. He never thought it would be enough, but it was.

"Oh hey. You must be Thor." She tilted her head to one side. Her phone went into her pocket, forgotten for now. "Have we… met before?"

Thor grinned like a new warrior after his first victory. "It's you! My soulmate."

She took a step back. "What? No, that can't be. You didn't say-"

"Your words?" Thor was glad it was nice out today or the weather might respond more intensely to his mood. "But I have! Long ago when we first met. I didn't know then what my words truly meant, but you and I are soulmates."

He turned to show her the words on his back. She swallowed as her fingers grazed his skin. Her touch sent delightful shivers through him.

"That... that's impossible." She shook her head. "I'd remember meeting you. You're _Thor."_

"I was not myself at the time," Thor explained. "We were in the land of New Mexico where my father banished me. You ran into me in the store while buying your Ruffles. Allow me to apologize once again for breaking them. It was not my intention."

"What… but… I…" She had gone quite pale, paler than Loki. Thor couldn't help his concern and led her to a large tree stump to sit down. He knelt in front of her, rubbing her tiny hands. Both of them would fit in just one of his. "Are you telling me that all this time I was watching guys I liked turn evil or die, I could've been dating you? _The_ you?"

"It's my own fault for not taking action when I should have," Thor said, bowing his head. "Will you allow me the chance to make it up to you?"

She was no longer pale. Instead, she'd reached the opposite extreme, turning beet red and sweating. "Uh… yeah. Sorry, I need to process this."

"It is a lot to take in," Thor agreed.

"I'm Daisy, by the way." She held out a hand, which he knew to be for shaking, then pulled it back. "Wait no, that's too formal. The handshake, I mean. I… I don't even know what I'm doing right now."

Thor offered his hand. "Then let's not worry about it and go for a walk. We have much to catch up on"


	39. SteveJemma for marvelouslyafan

**Written for:** _marvelouslyafan. February 22nd, 2019 Steve/Jemma "OK, maybe I am a BIT jealous."  
_

He was with Agent Carter again.

Of course, he was. They'd been a team ever since Carter rejoined SHIELD. Going on missions together, having adventures, working off each other's skillsets with practiced ease. No enemy who dared stand between them and their objective ever lived to tell the tale.

The rumors about what they did behind closed doors were inevitable, but it still made Jemma want to punch something every time an agent whispered about when Rogers and Carter were going to just make out already.

They don't have to make out, she wanted to say. It's the twenty-first century. Men and women can be friends without romance or sex.

She would say that, but her feelings went far deeper than moral outrage over outdated norms and sexism, and SHIELD agents were trained to always read between the lines.

(And just because she was a _ little bit _ jealous didn't mean the whole world had to know)

So when they walked into the lounge one day laughing and joking about whatever terrorist cell they'd just demolished, Jemma kept her eyes on her book and didn't look up once. She sipped her drink and jotted down a few notes like she was still all alone and the object of her one-sided affections wasn't making goo-goo eyes at his partner/maybe girlfriend not even two feet away from her.

Shutting them out was easy. Years spent with partying college roommates had sharpened her focus to the point where she could tune out a nuclear blast if she wanted to. Nothing they said registered beyond the occasional word or phrase without context.

"Just ask already! Come on."

Jemma's ears picked up. Carter's exclamation came out of nowhere. Steve was whispering to her, their faces inches apart. Jemma looked away in case they kissed. This book was expensive and the last thing she needed was to rip a page out in rage.

Seconds later, Carter got up and left.

What was that all about?

Steve took a seat next to her, driving the question out of her mind as the pen slipped out of her hand.

"Sorry to bother you," he said, biting his lip. "Am I bothering you?"

"Oh no," Jemma said, moving her papers out of sight. "Just doing some office work. Nothing important. How are you? How was the last mission?"

That might've been a bit too much considering this was the first actual conversation they'd ever had. No going back now, though. She'd already said it.

"It was fine," Steve said. "Our guys lived, their guys died, about how you'd want it to go. Actually, there were a lot fewer guys this time than I expected."

"They're probably running low," Jemma quipped. "You and Agent Carter are a force to be reckoned with."

"We do our best." Steve coughed and straightened his shoulders like he was bracing himself for some arduous task. "Anyway, I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?"

If Jemma had still been holding the pen, it would've snapped. "...pardon?"

Steve shrunk a bit. "I was just thinking… I've seen you around and your work is amazing. I thought maybe… sorry."

"Don't apologize!" Jemma slid off her seat. At full height, he still had half a head on her. "I'd love to. Really. I didn't ah… so, you're not seeing anyone?"

He blinked. "No, not for a while. Did you think I was?"

Jemma almost answered honestly but thought better of it. "Nope, not at all. How does seven o'clock sound? We could catch a late movie and then get some pizza."

Steve grinned, blue eyes sparkling. "You know the way to my heart."


	40. ShieldShock for justagirlfromcharleston

**Written for:** _justagirlfromcharleston. February 25th, 2019 Steve/Darcy fluffy smut  
_

Darcy got home from a long day of work to find Steve on the couch with a pillow over his head.

That was not good. It usually meant someone had died on his watch or he was in the midst of another Decimation flashback. Or maybe he'd spilled his coffee this morning before he could drink it.

It all meant the same thing anyway: her man was in need of some tender loving care. Emphasis on 'loving'.

Dropping her coat and kicking off her shoes, Darcy crawled on top of him, resting her head in the crook of his neck. He mumbled her name but didn't remove the pillow. She kissed his neck a few times all the way up to his chin. Her tongue left a long, wet trail across his Adam's apple. Still, he wouldn't move. "Wanna talk about it?"

He mumbled again.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

The pillow came off. Finally. Darcy snatched it and threw it to the floor.

"I was using that."

"Sorry, I just wanted to see your pretty face." Darcy kissed his lips. "Didn't you want to see mine?"

She was at her most endearing today and he couldn't help but smile back. Mission accomplished. He pulled her into his arms, kissing her soundly until her brain ceased functioning. The next time she could think coherently, she was in Steve's lap and his shirt was off. A massive bulge poking her thigh let her know where this was going, and that she'd done her job cheering him up.

"Thanks," he said, caressing her cheek. "I was just having an off day. Thought I'd feel better if I spent some time alone."

"Looks like that didn't work out."

He shrugged. "Sometimes it does, but I guess today I needed something different."

Darcy ground down on him, making him gasp and clench his teeth. Darcy walked her fingers down his chest and abs to the lining of his pants. She flicked open the button and pulled down the zipper.

"Let me make you feel even better," she intoned in her deepest, huskiest voice. It sounded more like a dying cow to her ears, but when she removed Steve's jeans and underwear, he was already leaking pre-cum.

She took him in her mouth and ran her tongue up and down the thick shaft. He groaned and reached down her shirt to unclasp her bra. There wasn't much else he could do until she was done, but that was fine. Darcy could wait for her turn. Right now, she was dragging this out as long as possible, giving him all the reason in the world to be the happiest man alive.


	41. Taserhawk for hotpinklizard

**Written for:** _hotpinklizard (femmmefatalist). March 25th, 2019 Clint/Darcy "You've been pouting ever since I went on that date. What's up?"  
_

It was around the time her date started eating spaghetti with his hands that Darcy suddenly needed a bathroom break. He just kind of nodded while licking sauce off his fingers. Darcy paid for her meal at the hostess stand and hailed a cab. On her way home, she deleted her Tinder profile.

Never again.

Never. Again.

Two days later, she found Jane in one of the training rooms with Clint and Bucky.

"Twelve perfect shots out of twelve," she said. There were two targets fifty feet away. The bullseyes were riddled with bullet holes and arrowheads. "Your math is on point."

"Are you sure?" Bucky squinted at his target. "I think the sixth hole is a little off. The diameter is-"

"The fact that you know it was the sixth one at all should answer your question," Jane said.

If Clint had any reservations about his ability (which he shouldn't) he didn't voice them. As soon as Darcy entered the room, he embarked on a careful study of that one crack in the wall shaped like a horse head. He didn't say a word even after Jane and Bucky left the room, the former saying something about getting lunch and winking at Darcy before disappearing. Like she knew exactly why Darcy had come down here.

_'I just wanted to know where she hid the remote,'_ Darcy thought as she found herself alone with her longtime superhero crush. _'Some friend she is…'_

Clint still wouldn't look at her.

"So…" Darcy clicked her tongue. "Fight any bad guys lately?"

"A few." He traced the crack with rough fingers. "How was your date?"

After a moment of confusion, Darcy found herself in the midst of a flashback. That guys whose name she'd scrubbed from her memory was licking butter off the wrapper like an animal scavenging through the garbage. Then he asked if she was going to finish her dinner roll.

"It was… a date… like encounter… of sorts." She rubbed her hands like they were dirty.

She thought she saw him smile. "Sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. I can always try again. Plenty of fish in the sea and all that."

"Hmm…" He went back to the crack.

"Why do you ask?"

He shrugged. "Just making conversation."

She was about to take a risk and she knew it, but no one ever got anywhere playing it safe. "Kind of sounds like you're mad I went on a date."

"I'm not," he said.

Spoken with the conviction of a kid covered in chocolate claiming he didn't steal a cookie.

"Are you sure? You were kind of pouting."

"I don't pout."

"Okay, brooding." She was gaining courage and with it came looser lips. "Or pondering or whatever it is badass heroes do these days."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Don't say that. That's the kind of shit your haters say online and then I have to stay up an extra hour every night to run them into the ground with facts."

He snorted. "Seriously?"

Darcy swallowed. Now she was oversharing. "I mean… you're just really cool and people need to know that."

"Well, thanks. Not that I care what those idiots say, but it's nice to be appreciated." He stored his bow and arrows away and washed up in the locker room. Five minutes later, he emerged fresh, clean, and wearing a shirt that didn't hide his massive biceps at all. "I'm free this afternoon if you want to get some lunch."

Darcy blinked. Then she pinched her wrist until her eyes watered. "Did you just ask me out to lunch?"

"Yes."

So it _was_ real. "I'd love to. But first, how do you eat your spaghetti?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh… with a fork?"

She was going to marry him someday.


	42. Sam & Bucky for sarratorrens

**Written for:** _sarratorrens. April 13th, 2019 Sam & Bucky "What did you say?" Platonic soulmates.  
_

When it was all over, from the fighting to the politics to the alien invasions, they finally sat down and talked about it.

"You're an asshole." Sam had no interest in dancing around the issue. Good. Neither did Bucky.

"I'm not the one who wouldn't move his seat." Bucky eyed Sam's shoulder, where those fateful words from that fateful car trip had been inked by the universe in silver writing.

Sam adjusted his shirt. "I'm not the one who rips steering wheels out of cars."

"I said I was sorry."

"I loved that car."

"You can buy another one."

"Would you say that to a mother who lost a child?"

Bucky massaged his forehead. This was worse than trying to stop Steve from jumping out of planes without a parachute. "You know what? Fine. Have it your way."

He stalked out of the room, not looking back and not caring if Sam watched him go.

He didn't need some dumb platonic soulmate anyway.

* * *

Two days later, his brand new box of Rice Krispies went missing.

It was Sam. He had no evidence, no witnesses, and no clear motive, but it was absolutely Sam.

When Steve didn't believe him because Sam was such a stand-up guy who'd never steal, Bucky took matters into his own hands. He picked the lock to Sam's apartment and walked in to find him at the kitchen table, the offending box of cereal right there in plain view as he enjoyed a snapping, crackling, popping bowl.

"That's mine," Bucky said, making use of his 'Soldat' voice as Natasha liked to call it.

Unlike a trainee or Peter Parker, Sam was entirely unmoved. "We're soulmates. Soulmates share."

"We're also human beings. Human beings ask before they take things. Otherwise, they get their spines broken."

"Nobody's stopping you from having some." Sam gestured at an empty chair. "Go ahead. I dare you."

Bucky snatched up his cereal box and knocked the milk carton to the floor for good measure. White liquid spilled everywhere. It would take Sam all morning to clean it up.

For the moment, Bucky was satisfied.

* * *

He woke up from a nap with a photo stuck to his arm. Attached with a _kitchen magnet_. It was one of those New York skyline magnets they sold at souvenir shops in Times Square. Bucky hated those things.

The photo was of Sam's hand flipping him off. How mature.

Bucky dropped his pants and Sam's phone was soon graced with the image of his perfect ass. That'll show him.

* * *

Sam's redwings malfunctioned in a battle against a terrorist cell holding an investment bank hostage. Instead of attacking the bad guys, they staged a mutiny. While Sam batted them away, Bucky dispatched all seven terrorists with ruthless efficiency. Every single one of them was an amateur. They couldn't even aim right. Why the Avengers had been called when a rookie with a donut in his hand could've handled it was beyond him.

The headlines the next day were great, though.

WHITE WOLF DEFEATS TERRORISTS. RESCUES TEAMMATE.

"You still haven't thanked me for saving your ass," Bucky grinned at Sam as he dropped another copy of the paper onto his lap (there were seven hundred more stashed away in his closet to wallpaper Sam's bedroom with later).

Sam had the eyes of a hungry leopard. "What did you do to my babies?"

Bucky gasped. "Are you accusing me of sabotaging your equipment to embarrass you on a mission? I can't believe you think so little of me."

"I can't believe suck my dick," Sam snapped, crumpling up the paper and throwing it at Bucky's head. To his credit, he made the shot.

"No can do. After that horrible offense, I don't even want to be in the same room as you. Goodbye, dear platonic soulmate of mine."

Bucky departed to a cacophony of bad language.

* * *

"Hello? Are there any superheroes around? I need some new photos for my album."

It was a curly-haired young woman with glasses and a hat. Bucky had never seen her before, so he figured she was one of those new 'consultants' Steve was telling him about. They were getting two: a physicist and an administrative assistant. This girl didn't look like either of those things, but as this was a private lounge no visitors should have access to, he wouldn't call security just yet.

"Hi," he said, waving her over. "I'm Bucky, I-"

"I know you!" She skipped over and shook his hand. That was the idea anyway. If she hadn't grabbed the metal one he'd worry about his shoulder dislocating. "Bucky Barnes, Winter Soldier, White Wolf. So many names, dude. You need to consolidate. I'm Darcy Lewis, intern, and assistant extraordinaire. You may have heard of me."

"Vaguely," Bucky took his arm back as quickly and politely as he could. "I knew you were coming, but-"

"Yeah, this is way more exciting than when I went to New Mexico to be Jane's assistant." She flopped down on the couch like this was her own apartment. "Not that New Mexico can't be fun if you're in a place like Albuquerque, but we were in a real dust bowl. Actually, a dust bowl would've been good. This was like a dust bowl within a dust bowl. I remember this one time I had to charge my phone, and-"

_Thirty minutes later_

"I say to the guy, 'I don't care about your grandmother's bowel movements, just pay me five bucks so I can go. And then he gave me the money and I bought a new charger, and I could finally charge my phone." Darcy took the first breath Bucky had seen her take since they met. "And then there was the time I had to get Jane a new battery for her laptop."

"You know what? I just remembered I have to be somewhere right now." Bucky shot off the couch like it was on fire. "Somewhere important… but you know, that was a really great story you were telling. I have this buddy, Sam Wilson, and I bet he'd love to hear it."

"You mean the Falcon?" Darcy's eyes lit up. "He's my favorite! No offense."

"None taken." He entered Sam's number into her phone, along with his apartment number and other relevant information.

"I'll just pop on over and say hi." She raced out the door, only to poke her head back in seconds later. "Almost forgot. Say cheese!"

Bucky did not say cheese and he didn't smile. Darcy took the picture anyway.

"Nice," she said, tapping a few buttons. "Friend me on Facebook. I'll tag you."

When she was gone and beautiful silence was restored, Bucky fell on the couch in a dead faint.

_'Have a good time, Sammy,' _he thought evilly.

Bucky went back to his apartment and ate dinner while waiting for the threatening text message he was sure to receive at any moment. By noon the next day, it still hadn't come.

A full twenty-four hours after Bucky unleashed the Chatty Cathy horror that was Darcy upon an unsuspecting Sam, his phone finally went off. Sam had sent him a photo. It was him with Darcy in his lap, kissing his cheek. There was writing on her neck he hadn't seen before. It looked like the singular 'no' on his bicep.

'_Thanks for finding her for me.'_

Bucky crushed the phone.

* * *

_'Just great,'_ he thought later on after failing to fix his phone. _'Now I need to buy a new one and Sam is one up on me. I can't believe that guy. Here I was trying to make peace, and all he wants to do is act like a two-year-old kicking sand in my face. Un-fucking-real. Of all the people I have to be destined for. I don't even want to think about what my romantic soulmate will be like.'_

He stepped outside and ran straight into a petite figure, halting his train of thought. The woman, soft where he was solid, bounced off him like a ping pong ball. She was no bigger than Steve before the serum, and some long-buried protective instincts rose to the surface as he bent over her.

"Jesus, I am so sorry. Let me help you."

"I'm fine," she said, pushing hair out of her eyes. "Should've looked where I was going. I always do that."

She pulled herself up with his arm. Bucky would've helped properly, but her words were burning in his brain and on his back. He stared at her like an idiot, like he hadn't been lectured by his father every day on what to do when this day came. Something about being a gentleman and inviting her to dinner which he had to pay for. Maybe that last part was different from the modern day's more egalitarian attitude towards dating, but at the very least, he shouldn't be staring so much. Or at all.

"Sorry," she coughed, rolling her shoulders. "I'm Jane Foster, I think you know my friend, Darcy."

Bucky nodded. "Uh-huh…"

Jane bit her lip. "She told me I should come and talk to you. I'm not sure why... actually, did I just say your-"

"Soulmate words," he supplied. "Yeah, I… I think you did."

He took Jane's hand and squeezed it. Not too tight, just enough to feel her warmth. She squeezed right back and suddenly, the day was a little brighter.

* * *

It became easier to avoid Sam. He just had to spend all his free time with Jane. Getting to know her, learning about her research, taking her on long walks through the park, kissing her under the moonlight, making her cry out his name in ecstasy.

He barely thought about Sam for a whole month. If they worked together, they didn't speak unless it was mission-critical. Nobody knew about their secret bond yet. Steve chalked the animosity up to stress and never tried playing mediator. For Christmas, Tony gifted them a 'get-along' shirt, which was promptly stolen by Jane and used as a sweat rag while she performed maintenance on her weather machines.

It was, shockingly enough, she who breached the topic two days after he and Sam took down a suicide bomber and only got the bomb dismantled with four seconds to go.

"Look, it's not that simple," Bucky said, pressing an ice pack to his head. He wasn't in pain anymore, but with the cold came numbness. He needed some of that right now. "I've been trained in a lot of things, but diffusing bombs is not one of them. We got it in the end."

"Yeah, barely," Jane said, turning a wrench harder than she needed to. "If it'd taken more time, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now. Because you'd be dead. You understand that, right?"

Bucky did, and it really sucked. He never wanted to be one of those guys who complained about 'nagging girlfriends', especially when Jane had every reason to be mad at him. He just… really didn't want to have this conversation right now. "What do you want me to do?"

Jane dropped the wrench and took a seat on the table. She was so light, it barely squeaked under her weight.

"Darcy told me you and Sam were arguing the whole time," she puts a hand on his face, making him meet her gaze. "That's why you were having problems."

"He's an idiot."

"He's your partner. And your soulmate."

_"You're_ my soulmate."

"Look, I know romantic and platonic soulmates aren't the same thing, but they're not so different either." Jane wrapped her arms around him, moving from the table to his lap. "Most people don't even have one soulmate, let alone two. People like us… we're born with an emotional support system already laid out, and that's not something to run away from."

Bucky furrowed his brow. "Us? You have a platonic mark, too?"

She pulled back her hair to show him the words behind her ear. It was such a small space, no wonder he'd never noticed before.

"Man this place is hot as balls. How do you even stand it?" he read, a grin forming. "Darcy, huh?"

Jane smiled. "The first few weeks were the worst. We couldn't agree on anything. She drove me so nuts I had to sleep on the roof by the firepit."

That didn't sound right. Bucky had seen them together a bunch of times and those girls couldn't be closer if they were sisters.

She seemed to read his mind. "We needed time to get where we are now, and I think you can have the same thing with Sam if you try."

_"__He_ won't try," Bucky said. "He's hated me from the start. Not that I blame him. We didn't meet under the best circumstances."

"None of that was your fault, Bucky. Sam knows that."

"Does he?"

"Yes." Jane touched her forehead to his. "I know I can't force you to talk to him, but at least think about it. Because deep down, I think you guys do care about each other, or this wouldn't be hurting you so much."

"It's not," he said, even though lying to her felt worse than a punch to the stomach.

"Just promise me you'll be civil with him. You know, so you don't get blown up."

"I promise," Bucky mumbled. Then he buried his face in her neck where he could forget all his troubles.

* * *

Sam was in the lounge, which sucked because it should've been empty this time of day.

Bucky was only there because he had no bad guys to fight and Jane wouldn't be back from her meeting for another half hour. With nothing else to do, he'd hoped to get a nap in and maybe watch some TV. Instead, he found the bane of his existence resting in a recliner (the one Bucky usually sat in of course) reading a book and pretending to be dead to the world.

Which he wasn't. His hands tensed and his breathing sped up as Bucky made a spot for himself on the couch.

The TV was in the corner and the remote within reach. He should've turned it on, but he didn't. He grabbed a magazine off the coffee table. Nobody knew why Tony kept them when nobody ever read them. Apparently they were for the aesthetic. Whatever that meant.

"So…" he licked his lips. "Nice weather we're having."

"Yeah," said Sam.

"Pretty warm for March. Must be that climate change thing I keep hearing about."

"Right."

Bucky stretched his neck. Sam scratched his nose. They continued their reading as Bucky found himself repeating the same sentence six times. Every few seconds, his eyes flicked to Sam, searching for the slightest shift in expression. He soon gave up on the illusion of reading and set the magazine down.

He took a breath-

"I'm sorry, okay?"

-and released it. Hard. His chest hurt now. "What did you say?"

Sam groaned like repeating himself was worse than the labors of Hercules. "You heard me. I'm sorry. I've been acting like a jerk and being unfair, so I'm sorry. I promise not to do it again."

Bucky stared at him. "Did Darcy put you up to this?"

"You bet she did." Sam returned to his book. He appeared to be on the wrong page. "Jane put you up to it?"

"She wants us to make up and get along because that's what soulmates do. Did you know she and Darcy are platonic?"

"Yeah, I saw the mark."

Bucky sighed and rubbed his face. "They're not going to let it go until we make up for real."

"Eh, they'll get bored."

"No, we won't!" Darcy and Jane stuck their heads out from behind the kitchen counter. Jane's cursed as she realized they were caught and forced Darcy down. "Uh… I mean, pay no attention to the women next to the fridge. Carry on as you were"

Sam rolled his eyes but couldn't hold back a grin. Neither could Bucky.

"I guess we could try," he said. "Make a fresh start or some shit."

"We could also do nothing," said Sam.

"You could also sleep on that couch for a month," Darcy snapped. "You, too, Bucky."

"That's not up to you, Lewis."

"Bucky," Jane said in her rarely used but deadly 'I'm pissed' voice. "Couch."

Sam and Bucky looked at each other. They both knew how this was going to end, no point in delaying it. Bucky curled his fingers, then relaxed them. He held his hand out to Sam. "Hi, I'm Bucky. I'm your platonic soulmate. Nice to meet you."

Sam looked at his hand like it was covered in mud, but took it anyway. "Sam Wilson. Nice to meet you, too."

They shook and somewhere in the back of Bucky's mind where he never ventured, he was actually kind of glad for the semi-truce. Maybe one day, they really could have a nice friendship the way fate intended. Darcy and Jane certainly thought so. They came out of hiding. Darcy had her phone out.

"This is gonna be my new Facebook header." She motioned at Sam. "Come on, Sammy, let's do this."

He stood reluctantly, letting Bucky put an arm around him. "Sammy, huh?"

"Shut the hell up."

They smiled for the camera. The photo proudly adorned Darcy's page for the next few months. And of course, they'd given each other bunny ears.


	43. BrockMay for lucdarling

**Written for:** _lucdarling. April 23rd, 2019 Brock Rumlow/May Parker "Who says 'nincompoop?!'"  
_

This was the worst assignment ever.

Or more to the point, the most boring.

This was why Rumlow never should've grown a stupid conscience and spilled all of HYDRA's secrets to Fury and set the rabid dog that was Steve Rogers upon the base where the Winter Soldier was being held. He should've kept his head down and did what he was told by Fury and by Pierce and been a good little double agent making an extra payday every month.

But no, he had to go and be _honorable_ and a _good man_ like some fucking after school special.

Now he was just another bottom of the barrel agent on the same level as a mall cop. Fury said if he worked hard and stayed on the straight and narrow, he might earn back his trust one day, but that was bullshit. Fury never trusted him. He never trusted anyone. Even his cat got weird looks like Fury thought the thing would eat him one day.

He strolled down the mean Queens streets on a mission to save the world. Actually no, he was just picking up some documents. Last week he got to stakeout a militia group in Istanbul to see if they were making bombs out of cherry pies (they weren't, but the pies were pretty good). Next week, he'd be cleaning the bathrooms on a ship in San Fernando Bay.

The abandoned building which had once housed a pizza shop was his final destination. A guy in sunglasses and a ski cap, who only needed a big flashing sign reading I AM A MUGGER to complete the look, raced down the street with a woman's purse. Rumlow had already stopped to check his phone, so he met the idiot with a punch, knocking him flat.

He was a bit off his game and the guy staggered back to his feet and kept running, sans purse.

A red-faced woman burst out of the crowd. She darted for her purse and clutched it to her chest as she waved her fist as the retreating thief. "Yeah, you'd better run. Next time you try to steal from me, you're gonna get it. You stupid… you big nincompoop!"

Rumlow, who had been ready to move on and not accept any thanks (because real heroes didn't need reward or overtime pay, said Fury), barked a laugh. "Did you say, nincompoop?"

"Yes," she snapped at him. "You got a problem with that?"

"Just never heard anyone say that before," he shrugged.

"I don't curse," she said, "I have a kid at home."

"So did my parents and I learned to say 'fuck' when I was four."

He realized as soon as the words were out that this wasn't something to brag about. A hint of sympathy flashed across her face, and he really hated that. He should probably just go.

"Thanks for stopping him," she said. "Did you stop him? I didn't see it."

"I asked him politely to drop the bag and move along."

She snorted. "I'm May Parker, by the way."

"Brock," he said. He hadn't been given a fake identity for this assignment and wouldn't have remembered it anyway.

"Nice to meet you, Brock," she said. "Is there any way I can repay you?"

"I'm good." He checked his phone again, but the screen was black. Tapping it did nothing. When was the last time he charged this thing? "Actually, if you could just tell me where 19th street is? I have a meeting to get to."

"Sure, no problem," she said cheerfully, way more than someone who almost got robbed should be. "I'm heading that way myself. It's just a few blocks down from here"

Against his better judgment, Rumlow allowed May to lead him along. He told himself it was just to pass the time and make the mission less boring. That she was easy on the eyes certainly helped.

"So are you in from Manhattan?" she asked.

"Nah, I'm not from New York. I'm here on business."

"Not shady business I hope."

"Just a few bags of coke and some weed. Nothing serious."

She laughed, which was a bit awkward as Rumlow had only been about forty percent kidding.

"Shouldn't joke about drugs," she shook her head. "My grandma used to tell me if she ever caught me with a cigarette she'd take my eye out."

"So you never smoked?"

"No, I just did it when she wasn't around."

Rumlow smiled, and he wanted to laugh, too, but like a police dog, he'd had that trained out of him years ago. It was kind of sad, now that he thought about it. "My grandma used to smoke. Used to say it was her bad habit and I should pick another one."

"Did you?"

_'Yeah, I joined a Nazi cult.'_ "I've made a few mistakes."

She nodded, sensing he didn't want to talk about it anymore. 19th street was coming up and they could've easily halted all conversation and parted right there.

"My grandma used to call me Stellina," she said suddenly as they were crossing the street. Rumlow eyed her and she blushed slightly. "Sorry, I'm not good with awkward silences and we were talking about our grandmas, so that's what came to me."

"It's fine," he said, "she wasn't wrong. You do kind of remind me of a star."

May blushed harder and giggled like a little girl. That was how Rumlow left her as they approached his street and she had to turn the other way to get home. He wanted to smack himself. "Why the fuck did I say that?"

He looked behind him, but of course, May was gone. Lost in the throng of New Yorkers and probably gone forever. Finding one person in this city was like finding one needle in a dozen haystacks.

Yet Rumlow had a feeling this wasn't the last he'd see of May Parker.

He hoped he was right.


	44. ShieldShock for pegasusdragontiger 2

**Written for:** _pegasusdragontiger. April 25th, 2019 ShieldShock with witch!Darcy.  
_

Darcy Lewis was a witch, not a psychic.

Her great-aunt was a psychic and successfully predicted both her parents' divorce and the blue ribbon she'd win in sixth grade for track. Her half-brother could also do this thing where he'd look into his babysitter's eyes and instantly know where the cookie jar was hidden.

Darcy, however, had not inherited such talents. It was sad but true.

And she should've remembered that when she set out into the world and got herself an internship with an brilliant, if eccentric, scientist stationed in the middle of the desert.

Expectation: spend a few months building sandcastles while practicing her potion brewing and wow-ing her squishy muggle friend with some magic tricks.

Reality: walk into the lab on Day Two to find Jane sucking blood out of a bag through a _ straw _of all things and suddenly understand why she never ate and was pretty much nocturnal.

"You're a vampire!" Darcy screamed, pointing at Jane's bloodstained lips.

"Yeah," Jane said, blinking her red eyes away and retracting her fangs. "Sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was going to but some things came up and I never got around to it."

"You're a vampire!"

"Er...yes, I am.

"Why are you a vampire?!"

"You mean was I born this way?" Jane tossed the empty blood bag away. "Kind of. My dad's a vampire and my mom is human, but when I was twenty-three, I decided-"

_"Why are you a vampire?" _

The conversation went on like that for a few hours until Darcy threw up her hands and accepted it.

She would continue to accept things all the way to the Avengers main HQ in upstate New York, where Jane had been taken on by Tony Stark as a member of his exclusive science team (which mostly meant them and Dr. Banner would hole away for days at a time, building robots or whatever). Being Tony Stark, he took the witch and vampire thing in stride and the two of them quickly settled into their new lives and new responsibilities.

Expectation: Get another year of experience as an administrative assistant before applying to grad school, try to get that one cooling charm to work in time for summer, and not see her supernatural life conflict with her superhero life in any way.

Reality: Visit her new best acquaintances Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes after they were attacked on a mission and realize those dog bites were not dog bites.

"I think it's a werewolf," she told Jane later when they were alone.

"Are you sure?" Jane was in the middle of arranging a meeting with her blood dealer, which was a thing for vampires apparently. "Could've just been a _ really _ big dog."

"I don't know." Darcy flipped through the photos her mom had sent her. They all looked just like the gashes on Steve's shoulder and Bucky's stomach.

They were discharged the next day, miraculously healed and feeling better than ever. Over the next few weeks, certain… _ changes _ would occur. Bucky made a scene in the lounge one day accusing Sam of raiding his fridge.

"I did not take your stupid ice cream, asshole."

"Oh yes you did, I can smell it on you!"

"I bought my own ice cream and ate it _yesterday. _What do you mean you smell it?"

Steve reported a case of sexual harassment after overhearing a janitor making lewd comments about the receptionist.

"I can't believe none of you heard him. He was practically screaming."

"He was all the way across the lobby. And it's crowded in here. How did _ you _ hear him?"

Both of them caused several thousand dollars in property damage by accidentally ripping doors apart and putting holes in the wall.

"Okay, I know the serum was good, but since when is it _ this _ good?"

"It's not. At least, I don't think it is. I don't know anymore."

A day before the next full moon, Darcy knew it was time to bite the bullet and tell them her theory. She dragged Jane along with her, just in case she needed back up. They found Steve and Bucky duking it out in one of the only training rooms they hadn't destroyed yet. No one else was around, which was good. Those claws and gold eyes would've been really hard to explain to a Normie.

"Huh," Jane said, her eyes clouding and turning red as she was almost hypnotically drawn to Bucky's aggressive stance. "Guess you were right."

The battle was at a standstill for the moment. Both men had lost their shirts and their bare chests were covered in claw marks. Glass windows had been cracked and safety mats shredded. Steve's teeth grew sharper by the second as he snarled at his best friend, ready to strike.

"Hey, guys!" Darcy shouted, using a spell to magnify her voice. "You need to come out so we can talk. It's important."

"I think we should stay in here," Steve said calmly.

"Might be safer for you," Bucky agreed.

"Look, I know what you're going through. Granted not firsthand, but I've read about it, and the first month after the bite is really hard. It'll be easier after you transform tomorrow. Until then, you have to chill."

"Chill?" Bucky rounded on them, stomping hard enough to leave massive imprints in the metal floor. "I don't care what you've read, you have no idea what this feels like!"

Every word came out as a feral growl. Darcy shivered in fear. Jane shivered for a whole other reason.

"I don't think this is working," she muttered to Darcy.

"Got any better ideas?"

"Just one," Jane smiled and licked her lips, "but I get the tasty one."

"You get the whatnow?"

Vampires were very fast. And very strong. Maybe not quite at supersoldierwerewolf (weresupersoldier?) level, but Bucky definitely did not expect her to leap clear over the twelve-foot glass and tackle him to the ground. He went down easily and didn't resist when Jane licked him from neck to ear. She grinned, fangs flashing. Bucky's eyes turned gold.

"I knew there was something up with you," he purred.

"Oh yeah?"

She pulled him into a kiss which immediately became far too R-rated to watch. Darcy took that as her cue to grab Steve and get the hell out of dodge.

They went through the locker room, Steve gagging at the intense odors he couldn't block out. Darcy guided him to her and Jane's apartment. By then, he'd relaxed enough that his claws retracted and his eyes returned to their normal (if still magical in Darcy's opinion) blue hue.

"Okay, we're good," she said. He shuffled to the couch while Darcy made him a quick sandwich. She piled on meat and a few vegetables to keep it balanced. Everything a growing wolfman needed.

"We're not good," Steve mumbled, staring at his hands. "Is this going to keep happening?"

"For a little while," Darcy admitted. "I know it's hard, but I promise it'll get easier. What you and Bucky are dealing with right now, they're just growing pains. This time next month, you'll be completely settled and out hunting fresh deer in between punching bad guys."

He put his head in his hands and Darcy stopped talking. She considered putting a 'shut up' spell on herself, but that might be taking it too far. "So… always had a feeling about Jane and Bucky, you know? They seem like perfect halves."

"She had fangs."

"Yeah, she's a vampire. Technically, it's not a secret, but Jane's kind of private and no one ever asks, so it doesn't come up."

"She's a vampire, Buck and I are werewolves," he stared at her, "so what are you?"

"A witch," she said. "Not a great witch, mind you, but you know, a witch."

She swirled her hand to create sparks. It was a good trick for little kids. Not so much for grown men in the middle of lycanthropic turmoil.

Steve's shoulders slumped. "I guess it could be worse. At least I'm not really losing my mind."

Darcy took his hand, ignoring for the moment how big it was and how good those callouses felt against her soft flesh. "You're going to get through this, okay? Both of you. I'm with you every step of the way. I can introduce you to older werewolves who can show you the ropes or make a potion to ease the transition, whatever you need."

"What if we don't come back from it?"

"You will," Darcy scooted closer. "Come on, you guys are way too tough for that. Everything you've survived, a little werewolf bite is nothing."

Steve smiled, which had to be a good sign. "I like your optimism."

"Thank you, I do try."

"Think you and I could be perfect halves?"

Darcy choked. The question, while unexpected, was not out of nowhere. Not for her anyway. "I.. well, we're only just getting to know each other. Hard to tell just yet, but I mean… I mean maybe. You never know…"

"Sorry if that's too much," he said like he could smell the combination of anxiety and desire welling up in her chest, and he probably could, "but I wouldn't mind if we were."

They had a quick meal (quick for Steve being the sandwich followed by two more) and Steve got the first good night's sleep he'd had in weeks thanks to one of Darcy's sleeping draughts. Bucky and Jane were back the next morning, just roughed up enough that Darcy didn't have to ask what they'd been doing and definitely didn't wanted to.

"Glad you're here," Darcy sang. "I'm ordering pizza later with a side of B positive for you, Jane. We've got a whole twelve hours to get through before the moon rises."

"Good. I'm taking a nap." Jane dragged Bucky into the bedroom with her, but from the lack of noise that followed, she really did mean to sleep.

"Thanks for this," Steve said as Darcy handed him a stack of pancakes. "Really, I can't thank you enough."

"So don't," Darcy replied. "I want to help. I may not be the best witch ever, but I can be the best buddy in the world."

Steve dropped his plate on the table, and right when it looked like he'd dig in without another word, he leaned over to peck Darcy on the lips, a tiny growl reverberating in his chest like he'd just marked her as his.

"Still gonna thank you," he whispered.

Expectation: Keep her head down and be just another face in the crowd among the heroes.

Reality: ...pretty freaking great right now.


	45. ShieldShock for calbeebellona 2

**Written for:** _calbeebellona. May 7th, 2019 ShieldShock humor fic.  
_

Darcy did not expect to get much for her birthday.

Sure, her parents sent her money and her grandma called to sing to her, but birthdays were never a huge deal in her family. They weren't the wealthiest and her parents preferred to save their money for the holidays. They went all out to make every Hanukkah a week to remember.

As long as she got a cake or cupcakes to bring in for her classmates, it was fine by her. She never had good ideas for parties anyway. One girl always had her birthday at the horse ranch. Another kid's dad co-owned the skating rink. One guy in second grade thought it would be a good idea to have his party in a haunted graveyard. That one would've been a lot scarier if the 'ghost' that jumped out at them while they cut the cake wasn't clearly the kid's older brother in white face paint.

Now that Darcy was in her twenties, birthdays were even less important. They were actually kind of depressing. The big 3-0 was creeping closer, and no matter how much Jane assured her it wasn't that bad, Darcy still couldn't help but check in the mirror every now and then for gray hairs.

On the morning of her big day, she went to the kitchen for some coffee and found Steve and Bucky covered in cake frosting. The walls were stained. The oven was smoking. Not hard to put two and two together.

"Soooo…" Darcy tried not to laugh in Bucky's face as a hunk of frosting dropped from his hair to his beard. "How you doing?"

"Peachy," Bucky growled.

"Why are you covered in icing?"

"You know why."

"Why are you holding a knife?"

Bucky tightened his grip on the hilt of the foot long blade. He shot Steve an especially evil look. "He has to turn around sometime."

"Buck, I am so sorry," Steve's face was all colors of the rainbow and his body shook with the trauma of their dismal failure.

"I'm so sorry, Buck," Bucky mocked. "I am so sorry. So sorry. Fuck you and your sorry!"

He cursed in every language he knew while burning through a box of wet wipes. Leaving him to clean himself up, Darcy turned to Steve. "Getting an early start today, huh?"

He gave her the saddest sad puppy face ever. "I was trying to make you a birthday cake. It didn't turn out so well."

Darcy nodded, examining the oven for damage. She was no expert, but there were definitely a couple of things in there Jane would want to replace. "I mean, they say it's the thought that counts, so… thank you for thinking of me."

His shoulders sagged. "I'm sorry."

"You keep saying that."

"Don't know what else to say."

While normally he'd be adorable all angsty and broody, this was not a day Darcy wanted him to remember as a cringey embarrassment.

"Let me say this," she got on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, "thank you so much for trying to make me a birthday cake. You're the sweetest boyfriend a girl can ask for."

"Yeah, and I'm the idiot who agreed to help him when I should've gone back to sleep," Bucky grumbled, tossing another wipe in the trash. "Where's _my_ kiss?"

"Sorry, buddy, not my department," said Darcy, not looking away from Steve's eyes. "What do you say we get some ice cream after you shower off, huh?"

Steve smiled. "Sounds good. Mind helping me with that?"

"Mmm… now that sounds better than any cake."

They left arm in arm, happy just to be together on this wonderful sunny day. Bucky stood alone in the sugary wasteland which had once been a kitchen. "Hey, wait a minute, who's cleaning all this up?"

Steve and Darcy did not come back, and Bucky went back to cursing as he grabbed a mop.


	46. Jack RollinsBeth for marvelfanuniverse

**Written for:** _marvelfanuniverse. May 20th, 2019 Jack Rollins/Beth. "That's an order. Obey."  
_

The fifth time Beth Jackson was almost kidnapped by a wanna-be supervillain, it was decided that she should have a bodyguard.

Jack Rollins did not volunteer for the job, no matter what the official report said. Very few within SHIELD were aware of the 'HYDRA Rehabilitation Program', as it had come to be known for lack of a suitable acronym. It was Coulson's idea and Rogers backed it because it allowed him to simultaneously be a shining hero who saw the good in everyone and a sadist who could get off on the suffering of his enemies.

Asshole.

Granted, babysitting a waitress wasn't the worst gig in the world. Somewhere out in the desert, Brock was chasing after Dr. Foster and her crew, trying to stop her from blasting herself into the sun. Sitwell had been given desk duty at a high security holding cell in Antarctica, and he didn't want to think about where Ward was. Poor bastard.

Compared to all that, this was a cake walk.

His schedule with Beth was simple. Guard the door while she ate breakfast, guard the street while she worked her early afternoon shift at the diner, guard the halls while she attended evening classes, and guard the window while she caught a few hours of sleep in between.

She never tried to sneak off (at least not after the first time), she didn't go out partying every night, and her wildest inclination in life was to walk past Central Park at sunset with her purse in hand.

It was easy, but by God, was it boring.

"How long is he going to be following you?" asked one of Beth's friends whose name he was supposed to know but hadn't bothered to memorize.

"Until the bad guys realize I'm not dating Captain America."

They were at a bar celebrating the end of midterms. Five or six students getting drunk and dancing. Jack must have been like them once. Sure, he never finished college, but when you get recruited at nineteen to be a part of the biggest intelligence agency in the world, who needs a formal education?

"I don't get it," said Friend no. 2, who had taken three shots already but showed no signs of disorientation. "All you did was serve him coffee a few times. How does that translate to dating?"

"I've been asking myself that same question for weeks."

"I mean, not that dating a superhero wouldn't have its perks," said Friend no. 1. "Especially_ that_ hero, am I right?"

Beth shrugged. "Steve's a good guy and a great tipper, but to be honest, he's not my type."

"You have a type?"

"Of course I do. Everyone does." Beth's eyes flicked to Jack, or was he imagining it? "I'd prefer a… rougher sort of man."

Yeah, definitely imagining it.

Jack took a walk around the perimeter of the bar, checking all the blind spots and calling in his hourly report. If Fury didn't get one every sixty minutes, that fancy little brace around Jack's ankle would send a 'non-lethal but discomforting' shock through him. Jack finished the message and gave it a read through, deleting all expletives and remarks about Fury's mother before hitting send.

When he returned to Beth's side, she was talking to a man.

"We're performing on Saturday at this place on 6th Street. It's our first gig with Bobby on bass."

"You nervous?"

"Nah, I've been doing this for years. I just hope Bobby will be okay. Anyway, if you want to come-"

"Ms. Jackson," Jack said, a little louder than necessary for how much distance he'd covered. "I'm afraid there's a situation. You have to come with me."

He took Beth by the arm before she could protest and led her across the room. Only when there was a crowd of bargoers between them and whatshisface did he let go. "What are you doing? I thought you were supposed to 'maintain distance' or whatever."

"I'm supposed to keep you safe," Jack grumbled. "Part of that is making sure you don't get lured into potentially dangerous situations with strange men who only want one thing."

That last part sounded like his dad with his little sister. Poor Mr. Rollins had tried so hard to instill good morals in his children and look where it got him. One was a former HYDRA agent and the other married a personal injury lawyer. There's just no helping some people.

"You are _ not _ talking about Ethan."

Jack glanced over her shoulder. Ethan was now on the phone and covering his free ear to hear whatever was being said. "Do you know him as well as you think you do?"

"He goes to my school."

"That doesn't mean anything. You can think you know a person for years, especially someone like him, and just when you think you're safe and you can let your guard down-"

"He's gay."

"He's gay," Jack repeated unthinkingly. "Wait, what?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Bobby is his boyfriend who just joined his band. He's inviting everyone to come see their first show together."

Jack blinked. "Oh… but you still need to be careful. It's not just supervillains, there's a lot of creeps out there."

"Trust me, I know," said Beth. "I've been to all the seminars, had all the self-defense classes, and no offense to you, but I was doing just fine with a can of pepper spray before all this kidnapping stuff. I only ever had to use it once."

"Sorry it's not so effective anymore."

"Eh... it's okay. Paranoia aside, you're not too bad to have around." She yawned which almost made Jack yawn in turn. He kept his jaw firmly shut as he checked her eyes for any sign of drugging. They were clear as ever (and a nice shade of brown). "I think I'll head home. Care to follow me in your car?"

"I'd rather just drive you."

"What if I want to stretch my legs?"

"You can do it tomorrow at the gym. Indoors. With cameras." Jack took her hand like they were some random uninteresting couple no one would think twice about. "Let's go. I'm parked around back."

"I don't know…" she'd be more convincing without that coy little smile. This girl had the worst poker face ever.

"That's an order. Obey."

"And here I thought _ you _ worked for _ me."_

She sashayed out of the bar, not caring a wit about the three separate guys Jack caught eyeing her backside. He sent them running with a glare and stepped outside to find her waiting by his car.

So she could listen after all.

_ 'Maybe she likes taking orders,' _ said a voice which seemed to radiate from a spot much lower than his head. _ 'You know, from rough sort of man.' _

_ 'Shut up,' _ he told it. _ 'She was not talking about me.' _

_ 'Would it be so bad if she was?' _

Jack didn't have an answer for that, and as the months passed, and the kidnapping attempts continued, and his assignment was extended to the end of the year 'just in case,' and he started spending every night in her apartment drinking coffee and making conversation like they really were just two people enjoying each other's company… it actually sounded pretty nice.


	47. ShieldShock for delightfullyweird

**Written for:** _delightfullyweird. May 21st, 2019 ShieldShock "Why would you DO that?"  
_

"Why would you DO that?!"

As soon as Bucky heard that, he should've walked away. The problem with realizing something mid-action is the brain doesn't always have time to send the right signals to the body. And if you've already opened the door, there's really nothing the brain can do except take in the image of your best friend shirtless on the couch with his girlfriend wearing a French maid costume in his lap.

Maybe this was his fault. He was the idiot who lost his charger and needed to borrow someone else's. Now if he wanted any access to his phone at all, he'd have to fight his way through a pair of wild animals and hopefully not end up scarred for life in the process.

"Hey Bucky," Darcy said. She was wearing purple lipstick that didn't look so great on her, but Steve loved purple so it was really a matter of opinion.

"Hi Darcy," he said. "Am I interrupting something?"

"Nope, not a thing. Just a deep philosophical discussion about life and existence and whether or not Steve could use me as a pommel horse."

"A _what__?"_ The very idea made Bucky shudder for reasons he didn't understand. "Why would you even do that?"

"That's what I said," Steve muttered.

"Hey, come on. Relationships thrive on experimentation." Darcy nuzzled her face in Steve's neck, which, to her credit, he clearly didn't mind. "You can't just have the same old sex all the time. It gets old."

"So your idea of experimenting is pretending to be a gymnast." Bucky would say he was surprised, but having known Darcy for several months, he really wasn't. "You couldn't try something smaller first?"

"Hello, do you see what I'm wearing?" Darcy rotated on Steve's lap to better display her black stockings, tight mini-dress, low neckline and partly removed frilly headpiece. Bucky would've liked to say her choice of wardrobe had no effect on him, but quirkiness aside, she was a beautiful woman and that dress fit her curvaceous form all too well.

"Fine," he said looking straight at her eyes and nowhere else. "Sorry to have interrupted you."

Darcy gave an impish smirk. "You can stay if you want."

"No, thank you."

"Are you sure? We haven't tried a threesome yet."

"Ask Sam. I'm sure he'd be happy to join in."

"Maybe we will. Nerd."

"Buck, don't listen to her," Steve sighed. "She's just kidding."

"Yeah, Buck, I'm just kidding." She winked as if Steve couldn't see it.

"Uh huh," Bucky backed out the door. "Okay, you guys have fun. If you need me, I will be literally anywhere else in the entire world."

"Sounds good."

"Yup." Bucky started to walk away, but then doubled back. "Hey Darcy, ask Steve about the raspberry jam thing."

"The what?" asked Darcy and Steve.

Bucky grinned evilly. "Come on, Steve. Don't tell me you forgot. All those USO girls went crazy when you did the raspberry jam thing."

"HAH!" Darcy shouted. "I _ knew _ you weren't a virgin when we met!"

"He's making it up!"

"Yeah right."

Bucky left them to talk it over and render that couch completely unusable. He was in much better spirits and quite satisfied with himself until he got back to his apartment and remembered his phone was still dead.


	48. RumSkye for ladywinterlight

**Written for:** _ladywinterlight. May 23rd, 2019 RumSkye "Sleep is for the weak. Sex first, sleep later!"  
_

Daisy's back hit the mattress and she nearly lost her breath as Brock's powerful body landed on top of her. He lifted himself a bit so not to crush her, but that was the only mercy he would allow. She moaned into his mouth, allowing his tongue to sweep in. Her hands roamed his naked chest, feeling scars and hard muscle. The closer she got to his groin, the harder he ground his erect cock into her.

"Ready to scream?" He bucked his hips. The tip hit her entrance but didn't go in. "Gonna make you scream my name all night."

"Yes," Daisy moaned as he sucked on her neck. "Brock… yes."

The next time he opened his mouth, he let out an inhuman shriek which shattered the mood and sounded remarkably like an alarm clock.

She sat up in bed, alone and sweaty. Her alarm was indeed blaring. It was eight in the morning and Brock was gone on a routine training assignment until six.

Daisy squeezed her legs together, but the painful arousal would not die down. She stumbled into the bathroom and spent half an hour in as cold a shower as her body could handle. It was all for nothing. She still felt his fingers brushing all her sweet spots, his tongue circling her breasts, his stubble scraping her stomach as he buried his face deep into her core.

Today was going to suck so hard.

As the hours snailed by, she distracted herself with everything from a jog around the park to a highly irresponsible gorge-fest at the pizza place. When none of it helped, she locked herself in the bedroom and made some quality time with her favorite vibrating friend. It worked long enough for her to turn on the TV and channel surf. She landed on one of the movie channels they paid for and never used. The main actor looked just like Brock, and suddenly she was back again with his thick cock in her mouth and his fingers on her clit and his teeth nipping her earlobe-

She checked the clock. Ten to one. She screamed into a pillow until her voice box cracked.

At roughly a quarter past six, the front door unlocked. A deep, masculine sigh preceded heavy steps approaching the bedroom.

"Daisy, you up?" Brock had removed his jacket and was in the process of removing his boots. "Sorry, I'm late. We got caught up in-"

Daisy would never know and never care. With the grace and dexterity of a jungle cat, she was on him. Strong as he was, he was not prepared to be attacked in the comfort of his own home and backed into the wall for support. Daisy's hands were everywhere. Up his shirt and in his pants.

"What the hell are you doing?" He lifted his head so she couldn't kiss him into silence. Fine then. He could use a few hickies.

"Fuck me now," she demanded.

Brock stared at her. "Am I having that dream again?"

"You'd better not be." She got the button of his pants undone and pulled down the zipper. His cock was in her hand and even half flaccid, it was glorious.

"Fuck," he groaned as she worked him into a full erection. "Here I thought I'd get a nap in."

"Sex first, sleep later."

He smirked. He knew exactly what that look did to her and thank the Lord above for that. "Since when do _ you _ order _ me _ around?"

In an instant, Daisy was on the bed. Her shirt was in pieces on the floor. His own soon followed. They got each other naked as quickly as possible and, with Daisy's prompting, skipped all but the bare minimum of foreplay and got to the main event. Brock pushed inside her, slow at first to let her adjust. When she was ready, he pounded her into the mattress, fingering her clit until she was over the edge and screaming.

_ "Brock!" _ She cried as pleasure coursed through her blood. "Yes! _ Yeeees! _"

He made her come a few more times, not stopping until he was satisfied that she was well and truly exhausted. Sweet afterglow enveloped their bodies. Daisy rested her head on his chest and traced the lines of his abdominal muscles. He always claimed he hadn't been enhanced with any sort of super serum, but with a body like this and all that stamina, no one could blame her for wondering.

"Feel better?" He nuzzled her neck.

"Much," Daisy yawned. "Might need another round in the morning if you're up for it."

"If?" He growled, sending shocks of delicious heat all through her.

"I'm just saying. If you're too tired after all the excitement today, I'll understand."

He grumbled something and she giggled. His fingers found her nipples and he pinched them hard, making her gasp.

"Hope you like this bed," he purred. "Because you're about to spend a lot of time in it."


	49. RemyDarcy for zebrabaker

**Written for:** _zebrabaker. May 30th, 2019 Gambit/Darcy "There's my ragin' cajun!" Steve spluttered at her words.  
_

"There's my ragin' Cajun!" Darcy leaped into Remy LeBeau's arms as Steve sputtered at her words.

"Did you just say-" Darcy licked Remy's ear before giving his throat a thorough tongue cleaning. "Uh… nevermind."

Jane, the master of concentrating in the midst of chaos, didn't notice the softcore porn happening right in front of her until she'd finished the current chapter of her book. "I didn't know you were dating one of the X-Men, Darcy."

"And I didn't know you were getting double teamed by super soldiers every night," Darcy countered as Remy feasted upon her neck. "We all keep secrets."

"Hmm… that's fair." Jane went back to her book.

Sensing he would get no help from her, Steve chose a different course of action.

"So uh…" he paused when they started making out again. That went on for ten minutes. "So how did you two meet?"

"Oh it's quite a story," said Remy as Darcy undid his buttons to attack his chest. "Chere, would you like to tell it?"

"I'd like to do a lot of things that don't involve talking," Darcy stared deep into Remy's eye like she'd forgotten anyone else was around, "but I guess traumatizing Captain America isn't one of them. So it all started about a year ago. It was a year ago, right?"

"A year and a half to be specific," said Remy, pulling her somehow even closer. "I remember every moment spent with you."

Darcy giggled. "Oh, you big hunk of Cajun charm. Anyway, it was a year and a half ago and I was on summer break. I think Jane was in Norway or something."

"Italy," Jane corrected. "I was giving that speech at the University of Padua."

"Right, so Jane was in Italy, I was in New Orleans, and I decided I wanted to spend the night on a riverboats. Man, those things are awesome. The music, the food. Especially the food. I had this Bananas Foster that was like-"

"Mon amour, while I do love to watch words flow from your perfect lips," Remy kissed the side of her mouth, "perhaps you are becoming sidetracked."

"Right, right. Sorry." Darcy pulled back so he couldn't distract her with more kisses. "Anyway, I was in New Orleans on a riverboat and there was music and food etcetera. I'm just chilling out and minding my own business when this guy comes up to me. The guy's not Remy before you ask, it was some random waiter guy. At least I thought he was a waiter at the time. He was wearing the uniform, so-"

"Darcy."

"I'm getting to it. I'm getting to it. So this guy walks up to me and he asks if I need anyway. I say no, because I don't, and because he's giving me creeper vibes. You know how some people just have that look about them? Like they're not doing anything yet but you're pretty sure they will once your back is turned?"

"Uh…" Steve looked to Jane for her, but that was apparently a really good book she was reading.

"And I told him I was okay and he's like, 'Are you sure?' And I say, 'Yes, I'm sure.' And he says 'Are you really sure?' And I say, 'Yes, I am really positively sure that you're a weirdo.' And then he said-"

"At a certain point, he drew his gun," Remy interjected. "And that's when I stepped in."

Darcy nuzzled his neck. "You were my knight in shining leather."

"And you, my goddess with a taser."

They started making out again, and while part of Steve wanted to be outraged, most of him couldn't help but feel the heat building between them. He glanced at Jane and wished Bucky would get back soon.

"We're not getting the end of the story," he said, "are we?"

"Probably not." Jane put her book down. "At least now I know where she's been getting off to at all hours of the night."

"That's good," Steve muttered, averting his eyes as Darcy ripped the rest of Remy's buttons open.

He was about to suggest to Jane that they give the pair some privacy when the door opened and a pizza-laden Bucky walked in. "Okay, got a meat lovers for me, sausage and peppers for Jane, and a Supreme for Ste- YOU! "

Bucky dropped the pizza boxes and pointed at Remy. Before another word could be said, Bucky tackled him, leaving Darcy a mess of mussed hair and smeared make-up. "What the hell?"

Bucky had Remy in a chokehold. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Remy somehow got out of Bucky's grip, leading to a chase scene like something out of an old cartoon. Trying to keep up with them was impossible, even for Steve.

"Do… do they know each other?" asked Jane.

Steve sucked in air through his teeth. "Yeah, I just remembered. We did run into him on a mission a while back."

"I guess the meeting didn't go well," Darcy remarked.

"GIMME MY MONEY!"

"Yeah, Buck's not as good a poker player as he thinks." Steve put an arm around Jane. "It's actually a funny story. We'd just dispatched the target and we decided to take the rest of the night off to relax. So we ended up at this casino…"


	50. NatashaSkye for liz-a-bell

**Written for:** _liz-a-bell. June 3rd, 2019 Natasha/Skye "I know it hurts, but I'm here."_

Daisy tried to make herself coffee. 'Tried' was the keyword.

She was running on an hour of sleep and couldn't remember the last time she ate more than an energy bar. At least a day had passed, maybe two. Maybe more. All her time went to watching every news report from every country as the death toll climbed higher and higher. Her mind was sluggish, sending warnings to the rest of her body that she needed to eat something or drink something or just stop for a few minutes. Before she stopped for good.

But the names.

So many names. So many she knew and so many more she didn't. They kept her eyes open when she tried to close them. Made her retch when she tried to get a sip of water down.

One name had not yet shown up. If it did, Daisy didn't want to think about what she would do. Huge cracks in the walls deepened every time an old friend or colleague was confirmed dead (or maybe just 'gone' as it were). The building made strange noises as the foundation grew weaker. Sometimes, she thought about getting out before the whole place collapsed. All she had to do was put her laptop away and walk out the door. If she could just look away from the screen and the names for one second…

"Daisy."

The voice startled her. She sat up and looked around. It was dark out, pitch-black like midnight. Looking at the clock, it really was a quarter after twelve. Her stomach whined at her, begging for food it didn't really want. It would've made a great alarm clock, but the voice calling her name and the hands shaking her shoulders did the job just as well.

"Can you hear me?"

Soft eyes stared at her, framed by blonde hair which would never hold a candle to her natural red. Daisy had balked the first time she saw it, much to Natasha's bemusement. She may have been going incognito, but blonde just wasn't her color. She'd have been better off going with black.

"Nat…" she whispered. Her chapped lips cracked and she could taste blood on her tongue.

"Where is everyone?" Natasha gently pulled her to her feet, leading her to the bed. "Are they here?"

Daisy blinked. The clouds in her vision wouldn't go away. "They were."

Natasha's hands grew tight and cold. If she had more questions, she didn't ask them. She wouldn't have liked the answers anyway.

They sat on the bed, not moving or talking. Daisy held her hand, not caring how hard Natasha squeezed. If she asked her to stop, she might let go. Then she might disappear, too. Or maybe Daisy would. Her laptop was still running, adding more names. "What's happening?"

She stared at the doorway where Jemma had once stood, talking about mission details something or other, before her body faded into nothingness. Somewhere to the left was where Coulson had been. And Fitz. And May.

"I don't know," Natasha said. "But it's not good."

Daisy looked at her, and there were tears in her eyes. Months they had known each other. Years Daisy knew of her, of her reputation as inscrutable. A true ice queen who could kill with a glance. Who never showed fear or rage or pain.

And she was crying.

The dam burst. Daisy threw her arms around Natasha and let loose the last few days in a single wail. Natasha held her, pulling her close and peppering her hair with kisses. Some nights, when Daisy woke up screaming from a nightmare, this was the only thing that could calm her down.

Not this time. This time, there was no waking up.

"I know," Natasha said. "I know it hurts, but I'm here. I'm here."

"Don't leave," Daisy sobbed. New cracks formed in the flooring. "I can't… don't leave me."

"I won't."

"Please."

"I won't." Natasha dropped down on the bed, taking Daisy with her. "I promise, I'll never leave you again."


	51. Lokane for tonaathena1996 2

**Written for:** _tonaathena1996. June 10th, 2019 Lokane fluffy fic._

Jane felt around the bottom of the bowl, pushing unpopped kernels and burnt bits aside. No matter where she looked, not a hint of puffy, buttery goodness remained. Sighing, she pushed the bowl into Loki's hands.

"Refill time," she said.

Loki did not take his eyes off the screen. "Must I?"

"Yes because I got the drinks and I made the last bag." Jane sipped her Dr. Pepper. It was getting warm. "Now it's your turn."

An explosion cut off whatever remark he had cooking up, so he wisely bit his tongue and left for the kitchen like the good semi-reformed evil boyfriend he was. Jane sunk into the cushions under a blanket now that he wasn't there to warm her. Scenes of a burning building and a tattered Bruce Willis staggering into the final fight flashed before her eyes. Soon Alan Rickman would be plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground like so many classic Disney villains. She just hoped Loki wouldn't miss it.

"You coming?" she shouted into the kitchen.

"This does take time, you realize."

"I thought you had magic. Pop it in your hands or something."

"If I do, I won't sleep tonight."

"Why not?"

"Because there aren't enough hours in the day to answer all the questions you'll have."

Jane pouted. "Hey, I'm not that bad."

A chuckle. Jane would've thrown her pillow in his direction, but she'd achieved maximum comfort in her current position, and moving now would be a mistake. Thank the Valkyrie above she'd peed before sitting down.

Loki made it just before the standoff, and he swerved gracefully around her coffee table, his shins unmarred by the jagged wooden edges. Someday, Jane would replace that old thing. Right after she got the new carpet installed.

"I see he's not dead yet." Loki handed Jane a bowl of fresh popcorn and retook his place at her side. "This is taking far longer than necessary."

"They're just building tension. It's how action movies work."

"If it were me, I would've destroyed him and his partners within the first second."

"You're also an alien with superpowers. John McClane is not." Jane popped some popcorn into his mouth. He made sure to lick her fingers before she pulled away.

"Such a pity."

Jane nudged him, smiling to herself. Always trying to play the tough guy.

They didn't speak again until the credits rolled. Jane switched the TV off and settled back into his arms. The rest of the popcorn could be eaten later. Perhaps with Die Hard 2. She would've suggested they watch it now, but Loki's hands were inside her shirt, and his lips had trailed from the top of her head to her neck.

"This is why I love date nights in," she sighed.

"Why?" he growled, his teeth nipping her skin. "So I don't get in trouble?"

"No, so you get in the right kind of trouble."

She squealed as Loki dropped her on her back, his lean, powerful body pressing her down. He left a few more bites on her throat and along her collarbone. Those marks would take days to fade, just the way he liked it.

The best part about dates nights in was when they lasted until morning.


	52. TonyPepperWanda for doctor-hayden

**Written for:** _doctor-hayden. September 8th, 2019 Tony/Pepper/Wanda fluffy AoU AU._

"Life's weird, isn't it?"

"Hmm?" Pepper had a book in her hands. One of her mother's pulpy romance novels she pretended not to like. The desk lamp flickered. Someone needed to change the bulb soon.

On the other side of the bed, with a lovely brunette cozied up at his side, Tony shrugged. "I just mean, one day I'm a rich idiot with a day job, coasting through life with a new girl every week, now I'm a rich idiot with a suit of armor in a happy semi-monogamous relationship with two women I love. Did you ever see that coming?"

"The suit of armor? No." Pepper marked her place and put the book down. "The two women? Well…"

Tony grinned. "I don't know if I should be offended or just kiss you."

"Wait until tomorrow. You know how cranky Wanda can get."

She slid closer to her lovers, reveling in the heat of their half-naked bodies. It had been a busy weekend with long days and even longer nights. For their first anniversary, Tony had gone all out. A beach vacation for just the three of them. There'd gone swimming, snorkeling, played beach volleyball (Wanda cheated), sandcastle building (Wanda cheated again), and enough dancing to cover both of Pepper's feet in corns. Their indoor activities were not to be discussed, but suffice to say, there wasn't much sleep to be had.

"Still makes me wonder how we got here," Tony mused, apparently not at all tired despite the moon in the sky and the early flight they had to be on in five hours. "She never told me what she saw in my head, but it must've been something."

Whatever she saw made her go from wanting him dead to hating herself for wanting him dead to defecting from HYDRA and swearing allegiance to the Avengers to falling hopelessly in love with him and Pepper, all in the span of a month.

Yeah, life was pretty weird.

"But you wouldn't change it," Pepper said, "would you? You'd never take it back."

"What are you, my conscience?" Tony snorted as Pepper gave him a look. "Don't answer that. And of course, I wouldn't. Not for anything. When we get home ask Wanda to show you the finger thing."

"The what?"

"Just trust me on this. It's not at all what you think it is, it's a hundred times better."

He shifted and Wanda stirred, mumbling to herself in Sokovian. Her eyes fluttered but didn't open. Tony brushed the hair out of her eyes and shushed her. "Get some sleep, babe. Need you all rested up for tomorrow or your brother will think we're overworking you."

"Mmm…" Wanda sighed happily and soon she was snoring.

Tony kissed the top of her head, then leaned over to kiss Pepper's lips. Pepper settled in at Wanda's back, feeling the everpresent hum of her magic, and knowing she'd never change a thing either.


	53. ShieldShock for tumblringinthetardis

**A/N: This will be the last one! Thank you all for reading and I'll see you later. :D**

* * *

**Written for:** _tumblringinthetardis. November 14th, 2019 ShieldShock secret relationship fic._

The first person who noticed was Jane.

But of course it was. No one spent more time with Darcy than her boss/best friend, or so she thought.

The first person she told was Bucky.

It was harder than she expected. The big jerk wouldn't stop trying to distract her.

"I know Darcy is hiding someth-eek!" Bucky nibbled the exact right spot on her neck and she torn between swatting him away or grabbing him and kissing him breathless.

"Darcy?" Bucky kissed all the way to her shoulder. "Who's Darcy?"

"Bucky, come on," Jane moaned, not just because he'd started on her breasts. "This is not the time…"

"I respectfully disagree, and I still do not recall this Darcy person." He grinned like the cheeky asshole he was. "Ask me again after a few orgasms."

Eventually, hours later, things were calm enough that Jane could explain her theory more in-depth. "Every day now I catch her texting in the middle of work. She'll go on thirty-minute breaks and come back two hours later like nothing happened, and she always so… disheveled."

"Like she hasn't just been getting a burger all that time," Bucky filled in.

"Exactly. She has to be seeing someone, I just don't know why she won't talk to me about it."

Bucky shrugged. "Maybe they're keeping things private for now."

"Could be," Jane said, playing with a lock of his hair, "she's not usually like this, though. Makes me think there's more to it that I'm not realizing."

The next person who noticed was Bucky, and not just because Jane had planted the idea in his head.

He returned to his apartment the next day just as Steve stepped out with a shirt over his head. His neck and chest were covered in hickies and he looked like he'd just run twelve marathons in a row. Bucky waited for him to work the thing on and fix his mess of bed head before coughing.

Steve's eyes bugged out. Bucky grinned. "Rough night?"

He stood so straight even a drill sergeant would be impressed. "No, not really."

"Uh-huh," Bucky said. There was definitely movement coming from inside his room, though his special guest was trying her(?) best not to make a sound. "Should I let everyone know you'll be late for the meeting today?"

"No, thank you."

"Are you sure? I know your workout regimen can be pretty tough."

"Fuck off." Steve got in the elevator flipping him off. Bucky flipped him off right back and it took all their combined strength not to crack a smile.

Next was Bruce. He'd been coming over regularly to consult with Jane on her research and had even taken to looking over pages of Darcy's thesis for her. While political science wasn't exactly his field, he had a keen eye for spelling and grammar issues.

"You have an affect where you need an effect," he said, handing her back a page.

"Are you sure?" Darcy re-read the line. "Dammit, why didn't Word catch that?"

"Maybe you need a different processor."

"You mean definitely."

Darcy threw the page aside and rubbed her forehead. Her phone rang, the screen lit up with a screenshot of… someone from behind. They were somewhat familiar to Bruce but it was hard to tell when the phone was upside down with Darcy's books covering it.

"Does that say 'Sweetass Apple Pie?'"

"No!" She snatched the phone and hightailed it out of the lab.

Then came Tony, because Tony knew everything.

"Are you banging Lewis?"

Steve spat out his drink. "What? I wasn't…"

"I know you're not with Jane because Barnes is and I haven't seen any brawls recently," Tony paced like he was considering an issue with one of his suits. "But you're always over there and sneaking back from their wing at five in the morning. Nice job dodging the security cameras, by the way. Friday almost missed you."

"I was just… I was… uh…"

"I wouldn't pry, it's just I have a bet going with Rhodey. He thinks you're with Mandy in accounting for some reason, but I know it's Lewis. You guys are the opposite of subtle about it."

"Well, I was… I mean I do… we've met of course, but…"

"I'll leave you to think it over," Tony slid out of the lounge with a knowing smirk. "So you _really_ think about it."

Within a week, neither Steve nor Darcy knew what to do.

"Maybe we should tell them," Darcy said, resting her head on Steve's shoulder. "I'm not sure how much longer I can keep lying to Jane."

"Yeah, Bucky's starting to catch on, too," Steve said.

"It wouldn't be so bad, would it?" Darcy asked herself more than him. "It's not like we have to put out an official press release. We're just telling our closest friends, 'Hey we're an item now. Don't be weird about it.'"

"They'd keep it a secret for us if we asked."

"Of course they would."

Darcy took Steve's hand and he brought her knuckles to his lips. His breath was hot, making her shiver. "We'll do it later."

"Right, later," she agreed as he pulled her into his lap and kissed her. "Or tomorrow."

"Tomorrow works, too."

Things always grew heavy fast for them. It was part of what had brought them together. Within five minutes, Steve's shirt was off, Darcy's bra was unclasped, and they were on the couch grinding into each other. This would've been the start of a long and fruitful night of passion, but then someone coughed.

"Pardon me, lovebirds?" said Tony as he, Rhodey, Bruce, Jane, and Bucky watched them from the bar. "Sorry to interrupt, but next time you want to have a secret romantic interlude, maybe don't do it in this extremely public lounge where anyone could walk in, huh?"

"I knew it!" Jane pointed dramatically at the pair.

"I also knew it!" Bucky shouted, also pointing.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Apple Pie," Bruce snorted.

Rhodey sullenly handed Tony a twenty.

"Uh…" Darcy swallowed, then shrugged at Steve, "well, I guess that's one problem solved."

"Great," Steve said. He could already feel a headache coming on, but at least he had the right girl to kiss it better.

"Also I'd recommend shutting FRIDAY down while you're in here? Not that the world wouldn't want official Captain America porn but you might get in hot water with your sponsors."

...he was going to need _a lot_ of kisses.


End file.
